Pro-Palestinian protesters block Metro Vancouver container port

By The Canadian Press on November 29, 2024.

Police in Delta, B.C., say demonstrators have disrupted access to a major Metro Vancouver container port terminal in what protesters are calling an action against Israel. Gantry cranes and cargo container ships are seen at Global Container Terminals' Deltaport, back right, as the bulk carrier vessel passes by in Tsawwassen, B.C. on July 11. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

DELTA, B.C. – Police in British Columbia say demonstrators have disrupted access to a major Metro Vancouver container port terminal, with the protesters calling for an end to what they call “Canada’s weapons trade with Israel.”

Delta Police say on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that officers at Deltaport are “working to resolve” the protest’s impact.

Police ask motorists to avoid the area of the protest, which coincides with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The protesters say in a news release they are students from the University of British Columbia and other community members.

They say the demonstration also targets a Global Container Terminals executive who is a board member at UBC, and shared photos showing a long line of trucks blocked by flag-waving protesters.

A similar protest in April disrupted operations at Deltaport for several hours.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada, and GCT Deltaport is the country’s largest container terminal with capacity to handle 2.4 million standard 20-foot containers every year.

Israel and Hamas have been at war since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while abducting another 250.

The Gaza Health Ministry says the death toll in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 44,000. The local health authority does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

– With files from The Associated Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2024.