Montreal police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment in Victoria Square

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The Montreal police began dismantling a pro-Palestinian encampment at Victoria Square early Friday morning.

Police say they are acting in support of the city of Montreal and began the operation shortly after 5 a.m. About 15 people were on site and were cooperating with police officers, spokesperson Véronique Dubuc said.

A heavy police presence surrounded the square Friday morning, including officers on horseback.

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Streets on all sides were closed to traffic and sidewalks filled with onlookers filming the scene. City workers could be seen taking apart the steel fences around the encampment and removing any remaining tarps.

Tarps, wooden pallets and other structures used for the camp were loaded into garbage trucks parked beside the square.

Police officers appeared to be leading protesters back into the encampment one by one to let them gather their belongings. Several campers packed up and left with large bags and crates. They declined to speak with a reporter on their way out.

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In an interview from the encampment site Friday morning, a spokesperson for one of the groups behind the protest denounced the dismantling by police, which came without warning in the early hours of the morning.

“I’m mind-boggled by the approach taken. I think this is the most heavy-handed police operation we’ve seen in regards to camps in Quebec,” said Niall Clapham Ricardo of Independent Jewish Voices.

“Obviously, this is a setback, but that doesn’t mean that the battle is lost,” he added. “We’re going to continue fighting to make sure all of our public institutions in Quebec aren’t complicit in the genocide in Gaza and divest from war.”

The Montreal police referred reporters to the city of Montreal when asked why the encampment is being dismantled.

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Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is scheduled to hold a news conference at 11:15 a.m. to explain the reasoning behind the dismantlement.

In a short statement issued beforehand, Plante said the encampment posed “major safety issues” for those on site as well as people who work nearby, in addition to contravening a municipal bylaw.

“The right to demonstrate is a fundamental right protected by the charters, but this right cannot interfere with the right to safety and free movement in the public space,” Plante said.

“A public place cannot be permanently and statically occupied, regardless of the cause,” she added. “Public space must remain public.”

By 10 a.m., nearly all of the fences and tents had been removed from the square. City workers used ladders to remove the last of the banners hanging from the trees, including the largest, which read: “Palestine will be free within our lifetime.”

Protesters erected the encampment in Victoria Square on June 22. Organizers said this week roughly 50 people have been staying there since.

No arrests were made in connection with the encampment itself on Friday. However, officers on site recognized an 18-year-old man “on the outskirts of the encampment” who was wanted for allegedly assaulting a police officer on June 25. The man was arrested and brought to a local police station for questioning.

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The protesters have been calling on Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to divest from Israeli-linked firms and for the province to withdraw its office in Tel Aviv, created last August to strengthen economic ties between the province and Israel.

The Caisse’s offices were sprayed with red and black paint this week, though the protesters said they were not behind the vandalism.

Last week, people had attempted to topple the nearby Queen Victoria statue and had tied a large Palestinian flag to it.

Friday’s police action is not targeting the pro-Palestinian encampment that has been on the McGill University campus since April.

jfeith@postmedia.com

This story will be updated.

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