MONTREAL—Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said a rally held in Montreal over the weekend to mark the death of Hamas political head Ismail Hanniyeh should not be considered peaceful, pointing to a speech that celebrated Palestinian resistance.
“Anyone who claims these demonstrations are peaceful needs to listen to the crowd cheering a speaker who calls for the destruction of not just Israel but also of all its supporters around the world & praises terrorism & violence,” Housefather wrote on social media.
Housefather, a Jewish MP who represents the Montreal riding of Mount Royal, had previously said he was “disgusted” by the protest theme and that he was in contact with Public Safety Canada to make sure Montreal police were appropriately supported.
The rally was held in downtown Montreal on the evening of Aug. 3 and was advertised as a “Night of Rage” to mark the death of Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran on July 31.
“Honor his last demand,” reads a poster for the event.
Iran and its proxies have accused Israel of killing Haniyeh, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying on Aug. 3 he was killed with a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kilograms.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility for this attack, it has done so for multiple hits in recent days targeting Iranian proxies. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Aug. 1 it had eliminated top Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in southern Gaza, and on July 30 it took credit for killing top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr near Beirut.
Montreal police did not immediately return a request for comment, while the RCMP told The Epoch Times it has no information about the rally.
Canadian cities have seen constant pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests since Hamas conducted its raid on Oct. 7, 2023, which has been met by a wide-scale IDF operation in the Gaza Strip.
The Canadian government has called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict, calling the situation in Gaza “catastrophic.” Haniyeh was killed during ceasefire negotiations.
Meanwhile, Israel says Hamas needs to be eliminated to prevent any future attack such as what occurred last year.
