Pro-Palestinian camp in Victoria Square

A crowd of demonstrators gathered in front of Victoria Square in the afternoon to offer their support for the new pro-Palestinian camp occupying the site. The demonstration, which included people of all ages, remained peaceful.

The Divestment for Palestine Collective “demands CDPQ leave[e] It immediately withdraws from its $14.2 billion investment in 87 companies identified as complicit with the Israeli occupation, according to a press release issued on Saturday. The demonstrators are also demanding the closure of the Quebec office in Tel Aviv.

“These are the demands that have been made by various groups for months […]. “We will not leave until our demands are heard,” said Benoit Allard, spokesman for the rally, who was sitting in the middle of Victoria Square. Behind him, tarpaulins bearing slogans were spread around the camp, hiding the tents from view.

The “Popular Resilience Camp”, which currently includes about fifty people, represents an “expansion of mobilization” in support of the Palestinian people, according to Benoit Allard. He emphasizes: “Universities are not the only ones complicit with the Israeli occupation, but there are also public institutions, the Quebec government and the Deposit and Deposit Fund.”

Colorful event

While the crowd's chants echoed throughout the square, one of the demonstrators climbed the base of the Queen Victoria statue located in the center of the square. The masked man, holding a hose in his hand, sprayed the memorial with multi-colored paint. Below, people wearing keffiyehs walked among the demonstrators, offering them bottles of water and pieces of watermelon, a fruit that has become a symbol of the pro-Palestinian movement.

Later in the afternoon, black-clad protesters confronted a representative for right-wing media outlet Rebel News and her photographer, who had come to document the camp from CDPQ territory. The demonstrators surrounded them and directed extended umbrellas at them. “Fascist, go home!” Rebel News, get out of there! », they chanted.

Rebel News has repeatedly taken a stance against the pro-Palestinian camp movement on campus, including describing them as “pro-Hamas hate rallies” on its website.

Officers from the Montreal Metropolitan Police station stationed nearby witnessed the scene, exchanging at times tense words with a Rebel News representative and protesters. The confrontation did not escalate, and the demonstrators subsequently returned to the camp.