About 200 pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian supporters violently clashed at a protest organized last week by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) in response to the murder of the three Israeli teens.
Const. Lilly Fitzpatrick of the Peel Regional Police told The CJN that police were called to the Palestine House on Erindale Station Road in Mississauga shortly after 6 p.m. on July 3 to keep the pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters separated on opposite sides of the street.
Between 30 to 40 officers were on the scene, “strictly to keep the peace and maintain order. It did get a little heated and a couple people did start fighting. Out of an abundance of caution, we had additional officers respond. There were several injuries,” Fitzpatrick said.
“One party was taken to hospital for a head injury, but I don’t have any further information on that.”
She added that there have been no charges laid thus far, but two people were arrested.
“The investigation is still ongoing to see if there is anything that warrants a criminal charge. Our role was strictly to keep the peace and maintain order.”
JDL president Meir Weinstein said there were a number of violent incidents between the two sides.
“One woman, whose intention it was to join our demonstration… was walking towards where the protest was.”
He said she was holding a sign with a message condemning Hamas and walked by a group of pro-Palestinians who were standing near the Palestine House.
“They began to swarm her… Police officers started doing what they had to do to separate them,” Weinstein said.
He said there was a group of Jewish bikers who joined the protest and there was an altercation between the two sides when the bikers attempted to park next to the Palestine House.
“They were swinging sticks, trying to attack the [bikers]. There was violence there,” Weinstein said, adding that a JDL supporter was taken to the hospital to get stitches.
Weinstein said he was surprised by the response from the pro-Palestinian side.
“We showed up not anticipating really anything from the other side… and we thought we’d have a vigil/memorial for the three Israeli teenagers that were murdered.”
Israel has blamed Hamas for the murders of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach. It’s believed that the teens were murdered by Hamas shortly after being kidnapped in Gush Etzion, a settlement bloc located south of Jerusalem.
“We picked the location of the Palestine House because that organization… glorifies groups such as Hamas. We picked that location because Hamas was responsible for the kidnapping,” Weinstein said.
While a representative from the Palestine House could not be reached by The CJN’s deadline, the Hamilton Spectator reported that Raed Ayad, a Palestine House director sent word out to his community when he learned about the JDL’s intention to hold a protest across the street from the building.
“We organized our community to stand not against them, but in commemoration of our fight and our struggle for human rights,” Ayad said.
“We are a community. We’ve been here for about 20 years, so the reality is we’re here to commemorate our people.”
