Four people attending a pro-Palestinian protest in the Junction neighbourhood, where demonstrators blocked railway lines and demanded an arms embargo against Israel Tuesday, were arrested by Toronto police.
Police said that between 100 and 120 protesters were gathered at Osler Street and Pelham Avenue rail crossing where organizers — which included Palestinian Youth Movement and World Beyond War Canada — said they planned to stay as long as they could.
“For months … we have written, phoned, and petitioned our MPs. We have held teach-ins, community meetings and town halls. We have (created flyers), marched, picketed, and rallied at every government office you can name,” said Dalia Awwad of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
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“So we have no choice but (to) escalate, and stop the weapons being sent to and from Israel ourselves.”
In a news release Wednesday, police said officers were moving demonstrators off the tracks when four of them refused, including one who allegedly assaulted an officer.
Among those arrested include a 37-year-old Toronto woman, a 30-year-old Toronto woman, a 29-year-old Orillia man and a 21-year-old Toronto man.
They are all facing similar criminal charges of unlawful assembly, mischief over $5,000 and being a member of an unlawful assembly while masked. They’re also facing additional charges under the Railway Safety Act, including entering on lane where line work is situated and failure to give way to railway equipment at a road crossing.
The 37-year-old woman is facing a sixth charge of assaulting an officer.
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The railway line is mainly operated by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, an international railroad company whose network connects Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, according to its website.
CPKC spokesperson Terry Cunha said in an emailed statement Tuesday they were aware of the protest and are in touch with police, but stopped short of clarifying whether CPKC’s trains had been halted or if there were any other service disruptions for the railroad company.
Police’s statement on Wednesday went on to say that protesters caused “delays and damage to the tracks” without further detail.
Metrolinx operations, including GO Transit and UP Express, were not affected by the demonstration, a spokesperson said.
