Here, we publish two eyewitness reports from our comrades who were involved in the encampments in Alberta when the police violently broke them up.

Students at the University of Toronto encampment in solidarity with Palestine faced off against pro-Israel counter-protesters May 8.

The long-planned attack on Rafah has begun. On Monday 6 May, the IDF launched airstrikes on the city and issued calls for the evacuation of around 100,000 Palestinians from its eastern neighbourhoods to the so-called ‘humanitarian zones’ of al-Mawasi towards the coast, and an area west of Khan Younis.

There has been a conspiracy of silence around the real overt racism and extreme violence of the Zionists attacking campuses these past few days.

It is clear that marches, petitions, and letter writing campaigns are not enough. The state has not listened to moral appeals. It needs to be confronted in the language of force.

On Saturday morning, an encampment was set up at McGill University in downtown Montreal. This weekend, thousands of people visited the camp to show their solidarity. Students from McGill, Concordia, UQAM and other campuses are also present.

At the time of writing, on April 22, we are emerging from a tense week in which the Middle East has come very close to exploding into a regional war. After exchanging missiles, Iran and Israel have tacitly agreed to conclude the current round of attacks. But the Middle East remains a powder keg, with no shortage of potential sparks.

Across the United States over 60 universities and colleges have seen students and faculty organising encampments in a growing movement against the massacre in Gaza. A whole generation is being politicised and drawing conclusions about the nature of imperialism, the role of the police and the state and the need for collective action.

Through Operation PROTEUS, personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the RCMP work as advisors and help shape training programs for PASF recruits. The mission? To “promote peace”, of course, while increasing the level of “professionalism” in the Palestinian Authority’s betrayal of its own people. 

On Saturday 13 April, Iran announced that it had launched an attack on Israel with over 300 drones and missiles. That afternoon, Joe Biden left the comfort of his beach house in Delaware and hurried back to the White House amidst a looming sense of crisis. The same night, the President met with members of the National Security team regarding the unfolding missile attacks in the White House Situation Room.