Pro-Palestine protesters escorted out of downtown Calgary mall after allegedly vandalizing bookstore

The Calgary Police Service said it escorted 12 protesters out of The Core shopping mall downtown Monday afternoon after they allegedly “engaged in disruptive behaviour.”

According to a CPS spokesperson, the protesters, who arrived shortly after noon, “damaged property” within the Indigo store on the first floor of the mall. The spokesperson also said the protesters were removed from the mall and an investigation is underway on the incident.

The incident at the Indigo location took place shortly after the protesters laid down on the ground floor at the west end of the mall protesting against aerospace and defence companies with offices in Calgary.

A pamphlet obtained by a Global News reporter claimed at least three aerospace and defence companies that have offices in Calgary are “directly involved” in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. These companies include Raytheon Technologies, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin.

Arcfield Canada, a fighter aircraft manufacturer, was also awarded a federal contract worth $211 million in March to help maintain Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 planes. The planes are expected to be phased out of service by 2032.

The pamphlet also claimed Calgary is “directly implicated” and tied to the conflict as it allowed these companies to accept federal funding or set up offices in the city,

It isn’t immediately clear who organized the protest.

The protest also comes after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones towards Israel on Saturday after a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Syria early April killed Iranian military leaders.

On Monday, it was reported that Iran fired 170 drones, more than 120 ballistic missiles and over 30 cruise missiles at Israel.

Ottawa urged Israel to refrain from further escalation on Monday. Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada is “pushing for a de-escalation” in the region while supporting Israel’s right to defend itself.

“That is why I have been clear to my counterpart in Israel, please take the win and make sure we can work together to bring back peace to the region,” she said.

–With files from Sean Boynton, Global News.

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