Trudeau escorted from Vancouver eatery as police disperse pro-Palestinian protest

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was escorted to safety as police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest outside a restaurant in Vancouver where he was dining, authorities say.

A crowd of about 250 pro-Palestinian supporters waving flags and chanting for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war surrounded the venue in the city’s Chinatown district on Tuesday evening.

Police say in a statement that 100 officers “assisted in controlling and dispersing the crowd, while the prime minister was escorted out of the restaurant.”

One man was arrested for obstruction while another was held for assaulting an officer who was punched in the face and had her eyes gouged, authorities say.

Vancouver police Sergeant Steve Addison told a news conference that “the actions of the protestors, such as blocking the lane behind the restaurant caused a concern.”

In a video on social media, some protesters are seen inside the restaurant, shouting at Trudeau.

Justin Trudeau chased out of Vancouver restaurant by screaming mob hurling accusations of genocide despite his irrelevance on the world stage and slumping poll numbers at home. pic.twitter.com/k8IIpFeNXs

— Rowan Thee Stallion ???? (@canmericanized) November 15, 2023

Earlier, Trudeau was heckled at another restaurant owned by celebrity chef Vikram Vij in a different part of the Pacific coast city.

Videos shown by local media showed a handful of protestors entering Vij’s restaurant and shouting at the prime minister to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

Trudeau said at an event earlier Tuesday that the killing “of women, of children, of babies” in the Israel-Hamas war must stop, sparking a strong rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.