Toronto and Tel Aviv Protests Intensify Calls for Canada to Halt Arms Exports

Businessman and philanthropist Mohamad Fakih urged Ottawa to halt military exports to Israel during a press conference organised by the Palestinian Youth Movement on 5 Aug. Speaking remotely through Movement Media Hub Director Gur Tsabar, Fakih said Canadian-supplied weapons were being used in the Gaza conflict and called for an immediate suspension of sales. Toronto police instructed organisers to move the event farther from the sidewalk, citing public safety. Later in the evening, pro-Palestinian demonstrators filled all four corners of the Danforth and Main intersection, waving homemade signs while passing motorists sounded horns in support. The protest followed a separate 25 July news conference at Toronto City Hall where Canadian Druze activists appealed for federal intervention after reports of execution-style killings in Syria’s largely Druze city of Suwayda. Demonstrations were echoed abroad; Reuters reported that protesters blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv on 5 Aug, underscoring widespread international pressure over the ongoing conflicts.