Police investigate after woman's hijab pulled off at pro-Palestinian demonstration

The Ottawa Police Service's hate crime and bias unit is investigatingafter awoman's hijab was pulled off during a demonstration outside an Israel Independence Day ceremony at city hall.

The May 14 incident was captured on videoand has since been shared widely on social media.

Hayfa Abdelkhaleq, who identified herself to CBC as the woman in the video, said she's still shaken by what happened.

"I feel really down. She humiliated me. I can't sleep normal, I can't eat normal, I'm not functioning normally," she said.

WATCH:Woman has hijab pulled off at pro-Palestinian demonstration at Ottawa's city hall

Woman has hijab pulled off at pro-Palestinian demonstration at Ottawa's city hall

17 days ago

Duration 0:11

Hayfa Abdelkhaleq had her hijab pulled off while she was attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration protesting a flag-raising ceremony for Israel's Independence Day. Ottawa police said they are investigating it as a hate-motivated incident.

In the video, Abdelkhaleq can be seen waving a large Palestinian flag with the words "Free Palestine" on it. She'sheard chanting, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

• What does 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' mean?

Another person enters the frameand shows their middle finger to the camera before reaching out and pulling off Abdelkhaleq's hijab.

In an unblurred version of the video reviewed by CBC, Abdelkhaleq's hijab is entirely removed from her head, revealing her hair.

The person starts to walk away and can be seen saying something to Abdelkhaleq, who responds with, "Shame, shame on you."

Abdelkhaleqsaid the woman swore at her and told her to "go back home." Shesaid she felt "scared" and "shocked" and quickly tried to cover her hair again.

"I felt like when someone takes off your clothes," she said in tears.

CBC has not been able to identify the other individual in the video to seek their comment.

'I'm still shocked'

After composing herself, Abdelkhaleq said she tried to follow the person, whom she saw join the flag-raising ceremony. She said she told a police officer who was monitoring the event about what happened.

Shortly after, Abdelkhaleq said she filed a police report and was connected to someone from the police's hate crime and bias unit.

She said she's stayed in contact with them in hopes of getting an update.

"After I see even the video now, I'm still shocked," Abdelkhaleq said. "I can't believe this happened, and I don't want this [to] happen to any other Muslim girl."

Police still haven't ID'd suspect

In an email, Ottawa police said they're treating what happened toAbdelkhaleqas a hate-motivated incident.

The suspect stillhasn't been identified, police said. They're still investigating and are lookingto anyone who may have seen what happened or might have more information.

Abdelkhaleq said she feels "really disappointed" by how long it's taking to identify the person in the video.

"In front of the city hall, there's a million cameras. They can find her," she said.

The woman who pulled off her hijab should be heldaccountable, Abdelkhaleq said, adding that she considers what happened to have beenanti-Palestinian and Islamophobic.

She said shefrequently attends Pro-Palestinian protests andhas never experienced an incident like this.

As someone born and raised in Nablusin the West Bank, Abdelkhaleq said she remains committed to supporting the Palestinian cause.

"I will never be silent, I have to keep speaking up," she said.