Police say about 30 pro-Palestinian protesters blocked a stretch of railroad tracks on Saturday for several hours just south of Montreal.

The railway line owned by CN connects Montreal to Halifax, where protesters claim goods are shipped to the Middle East country.

Police say four officers were pepper sprayed and four people in their 20s and 30s are facing charges ranging from obstruction to assault.

In a news release, protesters say their goal was to shut down a 鈥渧ital trade artery鈥� between Canada and Israel and all trade with the country must be stopped.

This comes as a growing number of pro-Palestinian encampments have popped up on university campuses in Montreal, and most recently in a downtown public park.

CN says it鈥檚 aware of the incident and monitoring the situation and protesters declined The Canadian Press鈥檚 request for an interview.

The Canadian Press