3 arrested at pro-Palestinian, anti-NATO protest downtown Montreal

According to police, pro-Palestinian protesters smashed the windows of the Palais des Congrès de Montreal on Friday night. (Maria Sarrouh / CTV)

As NATO officials met up in Montreal, pro-Palestinian protesters flooded downtown in solidarity with those in Gaza, leading to three arrests.

Some 300 delegates from NATO member states and partner countries are expected in the city between Nov. 22 and 25 to discuss support for Ukraine, climate change, and the future of the alliance.

There were several protests throughout the day, including one in the early afternoon at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and one in the evening around the Quartier des Spectacles.

Police say one contingent of protesters met up around 4:30 p.m. at Place Émilie-Gamelin while another started at 5:30 p.m. at Place des Arts.

The two crowds merged around 6 p.m. and lit an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on fire in the middle of the street before marching. They chanted "Free Palestine," and "Israel is terrorist, Canada is complicit," as they lit smoke bombs. Metal barriers were also thrown in the street to keep riot police away. 

According to Montreal police (SPVM), protesters smashed the windows of the Palais des Congrès, where the NATO summit is taking place, and various surrounding shops. Officers then used pepper spray, tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd, and three people were arrested for assaulting officers and obstructing police work. While dispersing, protesters lit two vehicles on fire, said the SPVM.

The protest was over by 7 p.m. 

Many of those protesting were students, as Friday was also the second day of a province-wide student boycott. 

Images out of Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) showed students unfurling the Palestinian and Lebanese flags in the halls, along with banners with anti-NATO slogans.

A group calling for pro-Palestinian student strikes at UQAM posted online that "it's clear that Israel can only act out its murderous plans thanks to weapons from and the economic and political support of western imperial forces, including Canada."

The post goes on to say that to NATO members, "the massacres in Palestine and in Lebanon are just another opportunity to make a buck. They will continue unless we force them to put an end to it."

There were large protests at Concordia University on Thursday, where students from McGill University and Dawson College also gathered.

The demonstrations come as the world's top war-crimes court, the International Criminal Court, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defence minister, and Hamas' military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

More than 44,000 Palestinian people have been killed by Israeli forces since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza health authorities, who say more than half of those were women and children. Thousands more are buried under rubble or threatened by illness and injuries, according to the United Nations.