[PHOTOS] Demonstration in Montreal to commemorate a year of resistance to the conflict in Gaza

Thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Montreal as part of an international movement to commemorate a year of “resistance to the genocidal war” on Gaza.

• Also read: [PHOTOS] The shock of October 7: account of the deadliest day in Israeli history

Around twenty divisions of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) coordinated in Canadian, American and European cities to demand an embargo on the supply of arms to Israel. Hundreds of demonstrators are expected.

“We demand an embargo on the supply of weapons to Israel and an end to our government’s complicity in this genocide,” said Rama Al Malah, spokesperson for the PYM.

The demands of the Montreal division of the PYM “have been the same for a year,” explained Ms. Al Malah. In addition to the end of the war and the “siege” on Gaza as well as its “extension to Lebanon”, the demonstrators demand that humanitarian aid be able to enter the occupied Palestinian territories.

Samira Paiement came to demonstrate to demonstrate her opposition to “a genocide perpetrated by a colonial system which benefits an oppressive group”. Her grandmother being Lebanese, she feels personally affected by the conflict spreading across the Middle East.

The PYM also deplores an “increase in repression on university campuses and at the city level”. The spokesperson insisted that the demonstration was intended to be peaceful.

“If there are excesses, we will be ready, but we expect a regular demonstration,” added SPVM spokesperson Sabrina Gauthier.

Since the Hamas attack on an Israeli music festival, 169,000 buildings, or nearly 60% of infrastructure, have been destroyed in the Gaza Strip as of September 13.

Israeli authorities have counted 1,205 dead in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

On the Palestinian side, 41,400 people have lost their lives since the start of Israeli reprisals, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government for Gaza, whose data is considered reliable by the UN.

The demonstration started a little before 4 p.m.

“We are asking that governments and institutions cease all economic, cultural and academic collaboration with Israel,” confirmed Benoit Allard, spokesperson for the Divest for Palestine collective.

The collective denounces in particular the $14 billion in public funds invested by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in companies doing business with Israel.

– With AFP