Photo Review -- May 7 to 14

Worldwide Actions Continue to Demand
Hands Off Rafah! and No More Nakba!

March marking upcoming Nakba Day, Montreal, May 11

CANADA

National Capital Region

Over 500 people marched for Rafah on May 11 in Ottawa.

At the Human Rights Monument at 2:00 pm, an organizer for the Palestinian Youth Movement said that for seven months Israel has carried out a genocide that has killed 40,000 Palestinians with impunity, and that it is crystal clear that it will not stop until all Palestinians have been erased or displaced.

He pointed out that the closing of the Rafah crossing, coupled with evacuation warnings by the Israel Occupation Forces, paints a bleak picture of what is to come if the world does not act swiftly against Israel. "As over 1.4 million souls brace for the worst, the time for international action is long overdue. The time for an arms embargo, for sanctions and for escalation is right now," he said.

He went on to say that Israel has repeatedly shown that it is not interested in rescuing its hostages, rejecting the latest prisoner exchange deal that would have led to a ceasefire, and continues to show its true intention to continue the ongoing genocide in Gaza. He also pointed out that this year marks 76 years of Nakba and announced that Nakba would be commemorated in Ottawa on May 15 at 6:00 pm. "We will meet at Tabaret Hall and we will march again. One thing at the heart of the Palestinian struggle and the source of Resistance against the Zionist entity is precisely the will to return," he said.

He pointed out that May 11 also marks the second anniversary of the assassination of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who ascended into martyrdom after the Zionist forces shot her while she was reporting from the front line at the Jenin refugee camp in 2022. "She represented the voice of Palestinians across the Arab regions and on the international stage. However, she is not the only journalist to have been deliberately targeted by the Zionist entity. Since October, over 120 journalists have been martyred as Israel wages a media war characterized by propaganda and the deliberate targeting of journalists, and their families, for exposing the lies and atrocities of Israel," he said.

He denounced Canada's seven-month long complicity in this genocide and its ongoing attempts to silence the resistance and suppress the right of Palestinians to demand justice. He ended by reiterating the movement's demands: "We demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to the genocide, an end to the 17 year-long brutal siege on Gaza, an end to the 75-year occupation of Palestine and to Canadian complicity in the crimes of the Israeli Zionists. We affirm more than ever that return is inevitable, an end to the occupation is inevitable and that we will see a free Palestine within our lifetime!"

People then marched along Rideau Street, then to the University of Ottawa where they joined the ongoing encampment on the Tabaret lawn, chanting "Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest!"

One of the student organizers of the occupation said, "Yesterday, horrific images were released showing the realities of Palestinians kidnaped by the IOF. As well, seven mass graves were uncovered inside hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the most recent being the Al-Shifa hospital, where two other mass graves have been recovered, showing the systematic brutality and destruction of what remains of the crumbling medical system. Medical teams in Gaza have exhumed the bodies of 520 martyrs so far. These mass graves, which exhibit the most horrific acts of violence, join the list of bombings, field executions, kidnaping and torture that the Zionist forces employ against our people in Gaza. The inhumanity of this barbaric occupation knows no bounds.

"This is precisely why our job here is not done. We will remain on the Ottawa University grounds and occupy the Tabaret lawn until the university meets our demands:

- Full disclosure of all direct and indirect investments made by the University;

- Complete divestment from any and all corporations involved directly or indirectly in the surveillance, occupation and murder of Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank;

- Revise and break off relationships with academic Zionist institutions such as the Tel-Aviv exchange programme;

- Adopt the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association's definition of anti-Palestinian racism."

May 11

Nova Scotia

Halifax

May 12

Quebec

Sherbrooke

Students set up a camp at the University of Sherbrooke on May 13. "Join the movement to denounce the genocide in Palestine, support other student camps and ask the University to publicly condemn the genocide, (to) publicly denounce Canada's complicity, (to) call on Canada to stop the sale of "weapons, (to) disclose full investments and more," the organizers wrote on Instagram.

May 13

Montreal

Close to 3,000 people gathered in front of the Israeli Consulate in Montreal on May 11 to commemorate the Nakba, the catastrophe of May 15, 1948 when Israel confiscated the land of 750,000 Palestinians by force of arms, expelling them from their homes and killing 15,000. People came from as far as Quebec City and Sherbrooke to join the rally.

Among those who spoke was a representative of Lawyers4Palestine who denounced the Israeli genocide and the silent complicity of international leaders for Israel's flagrant violations of international law. She called for an end to the occupation and apartheid in occupied Palestine and for an end to support for Israel's crimes by the governments of Canada and Quebec and universities. Speaking of the commemoration of the Nakba, she pointed out that since 1948 Palestinians have resisted Israeli occupation and affirmed their right to resturn to the homes from which they were expelled. She said "Under international law, peoples under occupation have the right to defend themselves against aggression and occupation, and the Palestinians are no exception" and spoke about the claim that Israel has the right to defend itself, pointing out that Israel is recognised as an occupier and the occupier cannot defend itself against the occupied. "To deny the Palestinians the legitimate right to defend themselves, while illegally granting it to Israel, is not only hypocritical but also contrary to the most elementary principles of justice," she said.

She drew attention to Resolutions of the UN General Assembly that affirm the right of self-determination, freedom and independence for all peoples under foreign and colonial domination and the legitimacy of their struggles by all available means, including armed struggle and said that Canada must respect the right of Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation.

She called for the lifting of the siege of Gaza as an absolute and unconditional humanitarian necessity, as well as the release of all Palestinian prisoners in occupied Palestine, and appealed to Canada and the international community to respond to the situation in Gaza by demanding an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, and for the Quebec government to close its office in Tel Aviv.

Concluding her remarks, she said "We must end trade relations with Israel and prosecute its leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity," ending with the slogan ‘Palestine must be free !', which was taken up in unison by the rally participants.

For more than an hour and a half, people took to the streets chanting slogans through the busy shopping area in the city centre. Passers-by stopped to take photos, smile and raise their fists in support of the marchers.

The march ended in front of the entrance to the McGill University campus, where the student encampment is located where they heard speeches in support of the students and chanted one of the slogans of the camp organisers: "One: We Are the Students! Two: We Won't be Silenced! Three: Stop the Funding Now! Now! Now! Now !"

The organizers invited marchers to visit the encampment, where free food and drink were handed out. They ended by calling upon everyone to join the march every Saturday at 2pm in support of Palestine.

Regarding McGill's request for an injunction against the student encampment a decision by Superior Court Justice Marc St. Pierre is expected on May 14 or 15. Organizers said that one way or another, they will inform everyone on different social media of the decision and call on everyone to continue their gestures of support of all kinds in support of the camp and the Palestinian people.

At the University of Quebec at Montreal, on May 11, students set up a camp in the central exterior courtyard of the Science Complex. They support the encampment established by McGill University students and demand that McGill withdraw its request for a court order to stop the McGill encampment and oppose the criminalization of the campers. They also demand the closure of the Quebec Government Office in Israel and an academic boycott against Israel by all Quebec universities. Leila Khaled, spokesperson for the camp, said: "As the occupying forces intensify their murderous aggression against Rafah, we, students and workers, refuse to remain silent in the face of apartheid, genocide and the colonial crimes of the State of Israel. We are calling on UQAM, but also the Quebec state and the Canadian state to take measures to put an end to their collaboration and complicity with the rogue state."

Demonstration making Nakba Day, May 11

University of Quebec at Montreal, May 12

Ontario

Toronto

More than 5,000 people took part in a militant rally and march in Toronto on May 11, joining other actions in Canada and around the world to mark the 76th anniversary of the Nakba.

The action, organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, drew participants from the Greater Toronto Area and other communities. Gathering at the U.S. Consulate, the crowd chanted slogans, many denouncing the U.S. for its role in funding and encouraging Israel's genocide against the Palestinians. The Trudeau government was also denounced for abstaining from the vote on May 10 at the United Nations to give Palestine more rights as an Observer State at the United Nations and support its full membership.

A lively atmosphere prevailed as people from all walks of life moved onto University Avenue and began the march north, their voices filling the air for blocks with Hands Off Gaza!, Hands Off Rafah!, Justin Trudeau, You Will See, Palestine is Almost Free! and other calls. At Yonge and Dundas Streets in the heart of downtown, speakers underscored that the Israeli state and its funders and backers such as the U.S. and Canada are completely isolated in world public opinion and are becoming more desperate and reckless in efforts to exterminate the Palestinian people in Gaza. One speaker noted that never before have the Palestinian people been so close to their liberation. Others hailed the students and youth on university and college campuses in the U.S. and Canada and across the globe who are demanding that their institutions divest from the Israeli killing machine and holding their governments and institutions to account. A physician who had worked in Gaza spoke about the heroism and self-sacrifice of the ordinary Palestinians in supporting the armed resistance and of people he knew who have died fighting in the resistance. In closing, he led the participants in the cry From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!

The march continued to the University of Toronto to join the students who have been encamped at King's College Circle for more than a week pressing the University to divest from Israeli enterprises. The more than four-hour action energized the resolve of everyone to stand with the heroic people of Palestine and to continue to demand that Canada stop playing its criminal role of supporting the U.S.-backed Zionist regime.