On December 16 in Montreal, a massive protest took to the streets calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. This occurred after Canada voted last Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the United Nations in New York in favour of a resolution calling for a ceasefire. In total, 153 countries voted in favour of the polarizing motion, 23 abstained, and 10, including the United States and Israel, opposed it.
Despite Canada voting for a ceasefire, the anti-Israel protesters are now questioning why it hasn’t been implemented. The first protester mentioned, “The release of hostages. For both parties, I consider that the prisoners in Israeli prisons are also hostages. And there you go, they should have the freedom to live as they want, simply.”
Another man explained, “They have the ability to ask Israel for a ceasefire. The United States, Canada, these countries have the ability to request, to impose a ceasefire. They are capable.”
Quebec stated its non-support for the vote in favour of ceasefire, insisting that it can only be considered if the hostages are released and Hamas is disarmed. Protesters expressed their disagreement with the decision of the Quebec government. “For me, they [Palestinians] have the right to resist. It’s not a life for anyone to live in such conditions. So, if they want to disarm Hamas, then in that case, Israel should be disarmed as well.”
A man made it clear that the problem is the presence of Israel, stating, “As long as there is a Palestinian, there is resistance. As long as there is no just solution, there will be no peace. There will be no peace. As long as there is Israel, to be frank, as long as there is Israel in the Middle East, there will be no peace.”
During the march, slogans were chanted to boycott McDonald’s and Starbucks, as these businesses were allegedly participating in or supporting the events in Gaza. Just like they have elsewhere, protesters applied stickers to all windows of these businesses.
Visit TheTruthAboutTheWar.com to see our coverage on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
