Charges laid following violence at a Calgary pro-Palestinian rally

Three people have been charged with assault following a pro-Palestinian rally in downtown Calgary.

• Gaza protest heats up in downtown Calgary
• Gaza rally organizers apologize for violence in Calgary
• Gaza ceasefire holds at Israeli-Palestinian peace talks continue in Egypt

The event took place on July 18 on Macleod Trail near city hall. About 400 or 500Palestiniansupporters were on one side of the street near City Hall,whilea handful of Israeli supporters were on the other.

Insp. Cliff O'Brien says it took a while to lay charges because officers had to look at a lot of videos and pictures.

"Investigations are not just about a video or a single photograph. There's a lot of work that has to go into this and we need to be responsible when we're doing this kind of work," he said.

On Tuesday, three Calgarians were charged with assault: an 18-year-old man, a 27-year-old manand a 16-year-oldboy.

Police say they expect a fourth man to be charged.

They also releasedphotos of a man they say may have information about the assaults in hopes someone will be able to identify him.

Several protests recently

There have been a number of protestsin Calgary since the conflict started.

Violence broke out at theJuly 18pro-Palestinianrally, butGaza rally organizers laterapologizedfor the violence.

Then, on July 23, aman was arrestedat an Israel solidarity rally for possession of a weapon. The 26-year-old is now facing anumber of weapons charges.

The Calgary for Israel Rallywas held on July 31, and featuredseveral speakers likeconservativepersonality and author Ezra Levant.

TheJewish Defence League of Canadasays it hasbeen asked to set up shop in the city, which it hopes to have up and running this month.

Pro-Palestinian supporters also pretended to be victims of the conflict in Gaza at a small protest held near a downtown C-Train platform last Wednesday.

The protesters were wearingwhat lookedlike bloodied clothes and holding signs that say, "Nothing to see here. Just another dead Palestinian."