Officers on horseback were brought in to control escalating tensions by creating a physical barrier between pro-Israel and pro-Hamas protest groups in the Calgary downtown core on Sunday. Israel supporters called for the release of Jewish hostages while those in support of Palestine called for a ceasefire in a crowd of about 1500 people on opposing sides gathered near City Hall at 2 p.m.The Hamas-Israel tensions in Canadian cities come after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, when the Islamic extremist group, which is the Palestine government and is on Canada's list of terrorist groups, brutally attacked Israel by killing over a thousand people at a music festival with rockets and taking hostages. Israel retaliated and there has been a war in the region ever since. Prior to the attack last month, Israel and Palestine were already under a ceasefire. Calgary Police Services (CPS) warned the public to stay away from the downtown core, citing planned demonstrations by “two groups of protestors.”.CPS closed Macleod Trail SE near City Hall to makeway for the police on horses, who positioned themselves “between opposing crowds after repeated attempts of some from the pro-Palestine side to cross onto the side where Israel supporters [were] demonstrating,” Mocha Bezirgan live tweeted from the event. .Video footage captured by Bezirgan shows police physically restraining Hamas supporters from crossing the line set up between the two groups. “A conversation ensued between the police and the demonstrators about the organizer (Wesam Cooley) who was charged with hate speech for chanting ‘from river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ last week,” Bezirgan wrote. The chant reflects the Islamic endgame of a singular state, annihilating the Jews from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean sea. .The police told the public they were preparing for the event by sending their Mobile Command Vehicle downtown should there be any incidents. No arrests were made, CPS said, but “specific incidents are being reviewed to determine if charges are warranted.” Police also noted charges or tickets are not always issued “at the time of an alleged offence,” citing safety concerns for the officers and the community, but in “many instances” are issued hours or days later.
Officers on horseback were brought in to control escalating tensions by creating a physical barrier between pro-Israel and pro-Hamas protest groups in the Calgary downtown core on Sunday. Israel supporters called for the release of Jewish hostages while those in support of Palestine called for a ceasefire in a crowd of about 1500 people on opposing sides gathered near City Hall at 2 p.m.The Hamas-Israel tensions in Canadian cities come after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, when the Islamic extremist group, which is the Palestine government and is on Canada's list of terrorist groups, brutally attacked Israel by killing over a thousand people at a music festival with rockets and taking hostages. Israel retaliated and there has been a war in the region ever since. Prior to the attack last month, Israel and Palestine were already under a ceasefire. Calgary Police Services (CPS) warned the public to stay away from the downtown core, citing planned demonstrations by “two groups of protestors.”.CPS closed Macleod Trail SE near City Hall to makeway for the police on horses, who positioned themselves “between opposing crowds after repeated attempts of some from the pro-Palestine side to cross onto the side where Israel supporters [were] demonstrating,” Mocha Bezirgan live tweeted from the event. .Video footage captured by Bezirgan shows police physically restraining Hamas supporters from crossing the line set up between the two groups. “A conversation ensued between the police and the demonstrators about the organizer (Wesam Cooley) who was charged with hate speech for chanting ‘from river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ last week,” Bezirgan wrote. The chant reflects the Islamic endgame of a singular state, annihilating the Jews from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean sea. .The police told the public they were preparing for the event by sending their Mobile Command Vehicle downtown should there be any incidents. No arrests were made, CPS said, but “specific incidents are being reviewed to determine if charges are warranted.” Police also noted charges or tickets are not always issued “at the time of an alleged offence,” citing safety concerns for the officers and the community, but in “many instances” are issued hours or days later.
