City workers dismantle a pro-Palestine protest encampment in Montreal, Friday, July 5, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
MONTREAL – Police have cleared protesters out of a pro-Palestinian encampment that was set up last month in the heart of Montreal’s financial district.
Municipal workers are on site in the city’s Victoria Square this morning, using tools to cut down metal shielding around the protesters’ tents and tearing down tarps.
A police officer says the operation, requested by the city, began after 4 a.m. under a heavy police presence that included riot squad officers.
The approximately 15 protesters at the encampment have been moved to the periphery and some are being escorted back into the site by police to retrieve belongings.
The encampment was erected on June 22 near the headquarters of the provincial pension fund manager, and protesters had demanded the fund manager immediately divest from companies they identify as complicit with Israel.
Today’s police action is not targeting the pro-Palestinian encampment that has been on the McGill University campus since April.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2024.
