Canada: woman plotting to attack Palestine protestors arrested

Police in the Canadian city of Toronto have arrested a woman who was reportedly planning to attack pro-Palestine protestors, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on November 3rd.

Footage shows the woman, who was wearing a Jewish Defence League (JDL) jumper, threatening protestors with a bottle that was confirmed to have contained reagent-grade ammonium hydroxide, which is a toxic laboratory chemical that can damage lungs and cause extreme burns.

In the video, the woman was shown shaking the bottle, opening the cap and threatening people. She made excuses about owning a cleaning company, to which police officers replied, “[y]ou weren’t engaged in cleaning when you opened it.”⁠

A statement from the police said that a “female was arrested on scene for assault with a weapon and uttering threats.”

The JDL is a far-right, Jewish supremacist group that was co-founded in 1968 by extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was also the founder of the banned Kach movement in Israel, which Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined at just 14.

Ex-members of the JDL were accused of assassinating a Palestinian-American activist, Alex Odeh, with a pipe bomb at the offices of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Santa Ana, California in 1985. As of yet, no one has been charged in connection with the bombing that also wounded several others.

The group, which has been present at Canadian university pro-Palestine events, calls for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and is reportedly known for its racist violence and terrorist activity. The organisation’s Canadian chapter is led by Meir Weinstein, who Ben-Gvir reportedly supports, according to the Pro-Palestine publication, The Electronic Intifada.

With Western nations including Canada, the UK and Australia having officially recognised a Palestinian state, the move has been used to reaffirm their commitment to a two-state solution, where an independent Palestinian state would be formed next to an Israeli state.

However, the decision to recognise a Palestinian state has sparked backlash from Israel and its supporters. It was reported on September 16th that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the move would embolden Hamas, a claim that has been denied.

However, the move has been criticised as symbolic because it does not back the recognition of Palestinian, in the sense of policies, such as restrictions on arms sales.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Al Jazeera and agencies, The Electronic Intifada and agencies, Maghrebi.org