Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Concordia University amid Quebec-wide boycotts

The lobby of Concordia University’s Hall Building was flooded with pro-Palestinian protesters Thursday as others gathered and chanted outside the campus in solidarity.

Close to 85,000 students across Quebec voted in favour of a two-day "strike" to boycott classes Thursday and Friday to demand their universities divest from companies they allege have ties with Israel and weapons manufacturers, and for an end to the siege on Gaza.

Students from McGill University and Dawson College joined the protest at Concordia. Dawson cancelled all classes Thursday out of “concerns about the safety of students and employees on the day of the boycott," though students gathered there to protest before making their way to Concordia.

Standing on the bed of a U-Haul truck, a protest organizer led chants accusing universities of being "complicit in genocide" and demanding they put "students over donor money."

“Boycott, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” and “Listen to the ICC and ICJ," they repeated.

• ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leader

In July, the International Court of Justice declared that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and found the state responsible for racial segregation and apartheid. On Thursday, the International Court of Justice, the world's top war-crimes court, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, and Hamas' military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

The warrants come as the death toll from Israel's campaign in Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children. Thousands more are buried under rubble or threatened by illness and injuries.

A small group of pro-Israeli protesters gathered across the street. (Maria Sarrouh / CTV)

One student told CTV News the protest started at the top floor of the Hall building and people chanted and carried banners while going down all 12 floors. "Free Gaza" was spray-painted on lockers, and Concordia University said a door was damaged and some security guards "were pushed around." 

“The photos coming out of the siege in Gaza are horrific and I don’t think civilians should ever be targeted,” the student said.

Concordia denies it has any investments in the arms industry. 

"This is because the Concordia University Inter-Generational Fund (which acts as Concordia’s primary investment arm) has committed to achieving 100 per cent sustainable investments and so has established criteria for its investments, focusing on responsible and social impact investments, and chosen fund managers and strategies that are aligned with this goal," said Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci.

Protesters took aim at McGill for "violently" dismantling a student-led pro-Palestinian encampment on its lawn in the spring, removing Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill's accreditation and unearthing a peace tree planted on the weekend — which they say amounts to student repression.

Across the street from the protesters donning keffiyehs, a smaller group of counter-protesters stood behind a police line carrying Israeli flags. One counter-protester told CTV News the protesters were "advocating terrorism" and that he "doesn't recognize this country anymore." 

The Coalition de résistance pour l’unité étudiante syndicale (CRUES), a collective of student unions representing 35,000 members across Quebec, helped organize the student movement in Quebec. Similar boycotts and protests are also happening across North America.

The Palestinian Youth Movement’s Montreal chapter also took part in the protest.

“As every university in Gaza is destroyed by the ongoing Zionist genocide, students are demanding their universities divest from weapons companies that arm the Zionist entity,” it said in a social media post. 

Montreal police said the protest ended just before 5 p.m.

Students left flyers with their demands to Concordia's administration around campus. (Maria Sarrouh / CTV)With files from CTV Montreal's Maria Sarrouh and Joe Lofaro