Canada protesters block armoured vehicle company over Israel links
A coalition of demonstrators from across the Toronto region have blocked employees from entering the Roshel Armored Vehicles facility in Brampton, Canada, over its alleged ties to Israeli weapons companies.
The protesters demanded the Canadian government deny arms export permits that Roshel is seeking to send armoured vehicles to Israel and instead implement a full weapons embargo.
“I have witnessed armoured vehicles identical to the ones here in the parking lot at Roshel being used to kidnap my family members and my friends in the West Bank more times than I can count,” said Adham, a protester with the Palestinian Youth Movement who didn’t give his surname.
“I myself was beaten physically and tortured psychologically as a 10-year-old simply for being outside when [Israeli] soldiers raided my neighbourhood in Tulkarem refugee camp using these vehicles. As someone who has been living in Brampton for over 10 years, I was absolutely horrified to find out that there is a factory that manufactures and exports armoured vehicles to Israel so close to my house.”
BREAKING: 100+ peace activists have just shut down all road access to Roshel’s HQ & factory in Brampton. This weapons co. is trying to export 30+ armoured vehicles to Israel. This week marks 300 days of genocide - we’re putting our bodies on the line to demand an #ArmsEmbargoNow! pic.twitter.com/2wHBxiKYZ5
— World BEYOND War Canada (@WBWCanada) July 30, 2024
UN concerned over Palestinian families in East Jerusalem facing eviction
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says it’s concerned that more than 80 Palestinian families face eviction from their homes in Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem due to “unlawful” and “discriminatory Israeli laws against Palestinians”.
In a statement, it said 87 Palestinian families, totalling 600 to 680 individuals, are facing legal proceedings initiated by Israeli settlers to evict them from their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighbourhood.
It said the “systematic settlers’ campaign” aims to “uproot Palestinians from their homes, take over their property and implant Israeli settlers in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem”.
“International humanitarian law prohibits Israel from imposing its own laws in occupied territory, which includes the application of Israeli laws to evict Palestinians from their homes,” the UN said.
Palestine NOC president once again pushes IOC to ban Israel
The Palestinian National Olympic Committee (NOC) sent a reminder to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about Israel’s breach of the Olympic truce, the NOC’s President Jibril Rajoub has said, speaking to journalists at a press conference at the Mission of the State of Palestine building on the sidelines of the Paris Olympics.
“We posed a specific question and asked the IOC to clarify whether the breach of the Olympic truce, implementation of the apartheid regime, annexation of the Palestinian territory, and Israeli athletes being members of the occupying forces will bring a change in the IOC policy towards Israeli participation in international sports,” added Rajoub.
The Palestinian team for the Games consists of six athletes who will be competing in boxing, judo, taekwondo, shooting and swimming, with slim hopes of a medal.
Palestinian sports officials have said that since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, more than 300 athletes, referees and sports officials have been killed and all sports facilities in Gaza demolished.
At every Olympics, the IOC calls on all countries participating to observe a truce for the duration of the games.
