Israeli flag stomped on, police say, as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups clash in Winnipeg

Tempers flared and a flag was stomped as two groups one supporting Palestinians andthe other supporting Israelis faced off in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg on Sunday.

Police, who were thereto ensure the rallies took place peacefully, stepped in to separate the two groups afteran Israel flag was thrown to the ground and stepped on, they said.

No arrests were made as officers moved the groups apart, warning people against igniting a physical incident.

Ron East, founder of the Israeli Canadian Council, spoke to CBC News before the groups clashed, while they stood on opposite sides of Israel Asper Way, saying the Israeli group was there for an anti-terror rally, not an anti-Palestinian rally.

East said hisgroup chantedagainst Hamas and the paramilitary organizationIslamic Jihad, not against Palestinians.He said his group called on the Palestinian one to unite their flags and stand together to condemn terrorism.

"This isn't about Palestinians. It's not about Israelis. It's about eradicating terror from our region, which will allow all of us to live in peace," he said.

His tone took a stark turn after the flag incident.

As police kept the road clearto maintain distance between the groups, East used a microphone to yellat the Palestinian group, calling them "pathetic losers."

On Monday, East saidthe taking of the Israel flag was an act of antisemitism.

"It just felt really wrong," said East.

"There needs to be some level of respect and some level of decorum."

He sayshis group is not looking to escalate violence, but show up to the pro-Palestinian rallies to ensure both sides of the story are presentat the events.

WATCH | Tensions flare during pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian rallies in Winnipeg:

Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups clash in Winnipeg

1 year ago

Duration 2:37

Tempers flared and a flag was stomped as two groups one supporting Palestinians and the other supporting Israelis faced off in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg on Sunday.

Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, says he is urging his community to stay peaceful, but emotions are running high right now.

"I can't blame them, at the same time, we really have to watch what we're doing," he told CBC on Monday.

"We are reaching out to our Winnipeg police partners to keep the other side away from these rallies, because they are coming just to try to entice us, to try to antagonize us so that we react in a negative manner."

Before it happened, Zeid saidhis group was thereto educate people about what he called an Israeli-led genocide in Gaza.

"I want them to realizewhat their government is doing is they're killing people. They're killing innocent civilians. They're trying to wipe out all of the Palestinian people," Zeid said.

Hamas, a militant group that governs the Gaza strip, led an attack inIsrael on Oct. 7, igniting a war that has led to intense bombing of Gaza by Israel.

Israel has said a misfired rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad caused an explosion last week that killed hundreds of people in a hospital courtyard. Palestinian officials have blamed it on an Israeli airstrike.

"This is a war that was brought on us by a terrorist organization, and Israel's going to ensure now that that terrorist organization is eradicated.The Palestinians need to look at Hamas as the cause for all their misery right now," East said.

But Zeid viewed it differently.

"This conflict isn't between Israel and Hamas, it's between Israel and Palestinian people. It's been going on for 75 years," he told CBC News before the flag incident, referring to generations of strife in the region.

East said he approached Zeidat the rally and suggested they meet at some point in an effort to "lower the rhetoric a little."

East said he's also reached out to his MLA,Obby Khan, to help arrange a meeting and act as a conciliator"to ensure that our communities here both the Palestinian community and the Israeli community can feel safe and secure in our city so things don't spiral out of hand."

"I think the day that happens is the day we can start rebuilding some kind of relationship," he said."We're not looking to bring what's happening abroad here, but at the same token, all of us are affected."

Zeid said he is open to a meeting, provided East keeps it civil.

"I'm always willing to talk as long as he doesn't yell, as long as he doesn't try to intimidate, because this isn't Israel," Zeid said.

"That's the beauty about Canada we can agree to disagree."

Khan said Monday that he's received no formal request to set up a meeting, but theidea has been raised casually.

"We've had conversations back and forth about maybe getting together. I would be willing to sit down with them and have a conversation and seewhere we can go from there," he said. He hasfriends on both sides, he said.

"I think everyone wants peace, and everyone wants to move forward together as a community. If I can be part of that discussion, I'm happy to do that."