Rallies across Canada, Europe protest Israel's Gaza blockade

Hundreds of protesters turned out for rallies across Canada on Saturday to demonstrate against Israel's blockade of Gaza, which has been thrust back into the international spotlight by the Israeli military's deadly raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla.
In Montreal, a crowd of hundreds marching peacefully but boisterously carried placards with slogans such as "Boycott Israel" and "I am ashamed to live in the country that calls itself the best friend of Israel."

It was one of several Canadian protests -- with events planned in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Victoria -- in addition to much larger demonstrations in Europe, which drew crowds of thousands.

Angry protesters chanting anti-Israeli slogans and waving Palestinian and Turkish flags took to the streets of Istanbul, London, Dublin and Paris as well as a string of other French cities.

Nine people were killed last week when Israel used military force on a ship in an aid convoy headed for the Gaza Strip.

Israel has said its soldiers were defending themselves, but the event has ignited international outrage. The slaying of the nine people, many of them Turks, prompted Turkey to recall its ambassador to Tel Aviv and cancel joint military exercises with the Jewish state.

The Israeli blockade has been in effect for four years, ostensibly to stop the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip from bolstering their arsenal to fight the Jewish state.

However, critics have said the blockade goes too far, pointing out the inclusion of such seemingly innocuous objects as chocolate.
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