Toronto:

Quebec Premier François Legault said Thursday that the encampment at McGill University in Montreal must be dismantled as a growing number of students have established pro-Palestinian camps at some of Canada's largest universities, demanding that they disassociate themselves from groups linked to Israel.

The protests in Canada come after police arrested hundreds of people on US campuses and the death toll in Gaza rose.

Although McGill asked police to intervene, law enforcement took no action Thursday to evacuate the camp and said in a statement Thursday evening that it was monitoring the situation.

Students also host camps at Canadian schools, including the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa.

“We want the camps to be dissolved. “We trust the police, let them do what they have to do,” said Legault’s spokesperson.

There was also a pro-Israeli counter-demonstration in Montreal on Thursday. The two sides remain separate.

University of Toronto students set up camp on Thursday morning in a fenced-in grassy area of ​​the school's downtown campus, where about 100 protesters gathered in dozens of tents.

According to a statement from organizers, the camp will remain there until the university reveals its investments, gets rid of anything that “supports Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal Palestinian settlements” and ends its collaboration. with certain Israeli academic institutions.

Israel says it did not participate in apartheid and that its attacks on Gaza do not constitute genocide.

A university spokesperson told Reuters that it was “in dialogue with the protesters” and that as of midday the camp was “not disrupting the normal operation of the university.”

Sara Rasikh, a University of Toronto graduate and spokesperson for the camp, told Reuters they would stay in the camp until their demands were met.

“If disrupting public order is the only way to make our voice heard, we are prepared to do it,” he said.

Some Jewish groups have accused the protesters of anti-Semitism. Organizers denied the accusations and said some protesters were Jewish.

When asked to comment on the encampment, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office pointed to his Tuesday statement saying that: “Universities are places of learning, places of freedom of expression… but that will only work if people feel safe on campus. Correct.” Now… Jewish students don't feel safe. That's not true.”

The protests followed a deadly attack in southern Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead and dozens taken hostage, and subsequent Israeli attacks that left approximately 34,000 deaths and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

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