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There was a festive mood on the roof of Toronto City Hall on Monday morning as dozens of people gathered in cool weather to see the Palestinian flag fly over the building for the first time.
The International Center for Palestinian Justice, which petitioned the move, said before the flag was raised that it would mark a “symbolic show of solidarity” for Palestinians in Canada on the 37th anniversary of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence.
On the rooftop, supporters joined chants of “free, free Palestine” and lined up to take photos with the flag before it was raised Monday morning, calling it a historic moment.
Down in Nathan Phillips Square, several dozen supporters also gathered to watch the flag being raised, while some pro-Israel protesters also marched in protest.
One man was arrested in the square on Monday morning for “assault with a weapon and [administering a] harmful substance,” Toronto police said in a social media post after the flag was raised.
Investigators told CBC News in an email later Monday afternoon that the demonstration was “flag-raising related” and said a man sprayed other protesters with something that “smelled terrible, but fortunately was not irritating.”
There were no reports of injuries and police said more information would be provided in a press release.
Court rejects injunction to block flag
ICJP lawyer Shane Martinez called the raising of the flag “fantastic” when it was displayed at City Hall.
“I am very happy for the Palestinian community. This is something that is long overdue,” he said.
The flag raising came after an Ontario court this morning rejected an injunction application filed by the pro-Israel group Tafsik Organization, which argued the event supported groups responsible for “inciting violence” against the Jewish community.
Martinez said his group learned of the injunction filed by Tafsik on Friday and spent the weekend preparing materials to ensure the flag could be raised. He said the group's request for an injunction “has no merit.”
“It was based on anti-Palestinian stereotypes, outright lies and did not actually have any evidence to support the claim that raising the flag would in any way harm the city of Toronto. What we know today from the celebration that we saw is that it actually did a lot of good for the city,” Martinez said.
Tafsik did not immediately respond to The Canadian Press' request for comment.
The raising of the Palestinian flag in Toronto follows actions by other cities including Mississauga, Ont., Brampton, Ont., and Calgary, which all raised the flag over the weekend.
Manitoba also flew a Palestinian flag outside the provincial legislature on Saturday.
The City of Toronto's flag policy states that flags of other countries may be flown above City Hall on national days or to mark special anniversaries – and dozens of flags are flown each year, including an Israeli one.
Along with its close allies Australia and Britain, Canada formally recognized the State of Palestine in September.
The recognition comes amid an international push to end the violence that began with the Hamas attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.
Since then, Palestinian health officials say more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas.
