Thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday, waving Palestinian flags in front of the Canadian Parliament building in Ottawa, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. The protest included a diverse range of organizations including Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, Jewish, anti-war, labor, and social justice groups. The demonstration followed the launch of an online petition submitted to lawmakers on Friday, which garnered 286,719 signatures (reportedly the highest number for an online parliamentary petition), urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Yara Shoufani, one of the protest organizers, stated that "a truce is not enough," adding that "thousands of Palestinians have been killed and the infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed." Protester Omar Yusuf, 38, mentioned he joined to "wake the world" to the plight of civilians in Gaza. He told AFP that the current halt in fighting “is definitely not enough. I think it should be permanent.”
The demonstration in the Canadian capital was peaceful; however, earlier this month police had to escort Trudeau to safety after a pro-Palestinian protest was dispersed outside a Vancouver restaurant where the Prime Minister was dining. Trudeau had previously stated that the killing of "women, children, and infants" in the war between Israel and Hamas must stop, which drew sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
