Pro-Palestine rallies to be staged around Australia

Rachael Ward | October 15, 2023

Pro-Palestine demonstrations are set to be held in several capital cities around Australia on Sunday.

Gatherings will be held at Sydney’s Hyde Park, the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne and state parliament in Adelaide.

It follows large protests on Friday in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

Nation-wide rallies erupted after Israel launched retaliatory strikes in Gaza following the deaths of more than 1000 people at the hands of Hamas militants.

A major police presence is expected in all three cities ahead of the demonstrations.

Earlier in the week, NSW Police Acting Commissioner Dave Hudson said authorisation had been requested to use “special powers” to demand protesters reveal their identities and be searched.

It comes after some attendees at a Sydney protest on Monday chanted anti-Jewish slurs and set off flares at the Opera House, sparking condemnation from state and federal politicians and Jewish community groups.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the additional powers would only be used by officers who believed it was in the interest of public safety.

“Police are not considering these powers out of the clear blue sky,” Mr Minns told reporters on Friday.

“We gave these organisers a go and they failed to control the crowd and it descended into violence and we can’t let that happen again.”

On Wednesday, South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said officers would act quickly if the protest escalated and he did not want to see anyone do anything that could impact their safety.

Victoria Police said there would be a highly visible police presence in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday and keeping peace was a top priority.

“While individuals have the right to protest lawfully, we strongly encourage those attending to protest peacefully and without impacting the broader community,” a spokesperson said.