A number of arrests had been made as rioters ransacked storefronts forward of the bloc’s annual summit
At the very least three individuals have been arrested after anti-NATO and pro-Palestinian protesters rioted on the streets of Montreal, torching vehicles, vandalizing shopfronts, and clashing with police. The Francophone Canadian metropolis hosts NATO’s annual summit this weekend.
A crowd of ant-NATO demonstrators assembled at a park within the heart of the town on Friday afternoon, earlier than converging with an anti-Israel demonstration held close by, police instructed native media.
Though initially peaceable, police mentioned that the protest turned violent after the anti-Israel contingent burned an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and commenced hurling flares and projectiles at armored riot officers.
Montreal proper now.Perceive that they need this for each single Jewish particular person on Earth, however use the phrase “zionist” to cloak their intentions.@JustinTrudeau are you pleased with the sh*thole you’ve got lowered Canada to in simply 10 years? https://t.co/P6qNufC6Hd
— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) November 23, 2024
A bunch of masked rioters then made their approach down Rene-Levesque Boulevard, smashing home windows alongside the busy industrial thoroughfare. Two autos had been set ablaze earlier than law enforcement officials used tear fuel to disperse the gang. Three individuals had been arrested for allegedly assaulting officers, a police spokesperson mentioned.
The protests befell as lots of of NATO delegates arrived in Montreal for the bloc’s annual summit. Working from Friday by way of Monday, the summit will embody high-level talks on missile protection, local weather change, and “supporting Ukraine till victory,” based on NATO’s web site.
Ukrainian chief Vladimir Zelensky spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this month. After the dialog, Zelensky introduced that Canada would ship a NASAMS air protection system to Ukraine earlier than the tip of the 12 months.
In the future earlier than the protests, teams of pro- and anti-Israel demonstrators clashed at Montreal’s Concordia College, the place tens of hundreds of pro-Palestinian college students went on strike and refused to attend courses. One of many left-wing scholar teams main the strike mentioned that it was instances to coincide with the summit, accusing NATO of backing the “ongoing genocide” in Gaza.
