Police in British Columbia said protesters disrupted access to a major container port in Metro Vancouver, with protesters calling for an end to what they called “Canada’s arms trade with Israel.”
Delta police said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that Deltaport police are “working to resolve” the impact of the protest.
Police are asking motorists to avoid the area of the demonstration, which coincides with the International Day of Palestinian Unity.
The protesters said in a statement released by the media that they are students from the University of British Columbia and other members of the community.
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They said that the demonstration was directed by the CEO of Global Container Terminals who is a member of the board at UBC, and they also shared photos showing a long line of trucks blocked by protesters waving the flag.
A similar protest in April disrupted operations at Deltaport for several hours.
The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest port, and GCT Deltaport is the country’s largest terminal capable of handling 2.4 million 20-meter standard containers annually.
Israel and Hamas have been at war since October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led forces raided southern Israel killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, while abducting 250 others.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza says the death toll in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 44,000. Local health authorities do not distinguish between civilians and combatants by number, but said more than half of the dead were women and children.
– Via files from the Associated Press.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
