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Thousands of Australians have rallied for a free Palestine and denounced what they described as elected leaders’ hypocrisy in supporting Israel and Indigenous recognition.
Despite being warned away by NSW Police around 5000 people in Sydney’s Hyde Park peacefully protested against Israel’s strikes on Gaza on Sunday, amid a large police presence that included officers from the riot, mounted and canine units.
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Thousands more gathered in Melbourne and Adelaide, following rallies on Friday in Brisbane and Perth.
Protesters held signs calling for an end to the Gaza blockade, a ceasefire and an end to “Israeli apartheid”.
But the overwhelming sentiment was clear: free Palestine.
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Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi told the Sydney rally Israel’s sustained strikes and ongoing siege of Gaza were “war crimes”.
“I know the harsh consequences of telling the truth but that will not stop me telling it exactly as it is,” she said to cheers.
“(Israel’s actions) are the very definition of collective punishment.”
Ghanemia Sultan, expelled from Gaza aged four in 1948 in what is known as the Nakba, said Israel had stolen her land.
“They kill my family,” she told AAP.
“I have the right to return to Palestine … We never, never, never forget our right.”
The rallies are to show participants support for Palestinians and advocate for an end to Israeli occupation. Credit: 7NEWSThousands have taken to the streets in Melbourne for a pro-Palestine rally. Credit: 7NEWS
One of the organisers contrasted Australian leaders’ backing of a ‘yes’ vote for an Indigenous voice and recognition while concurrently supporting a “colonial, settler and fascist” regime in Israel.
“What a hypocrisy,” she told the rally.
Muslim, Christian and Jewish speakers called for peace as hundreds of uniformed NSW Police officers watched on.
Jasminka Hadzimustafic said she was there to “stop the rise of Nazism” and support innocent people caught up in the conflict.
“Anyone with a hint of decency should be here,” she told AAP.
“I’m not Palestinian, I’m not Arab, I’m just a human being.”
In Melbourne, several thousand people holding Palestine flags and signs converged outside the State Library of Victoria and surrounding streets for a rally.
The crowd, led by outgoing Greens senator Janet Rice, chanted “free, free Palestine” and heard speeches as police patrolled.
“This is genocide, this is ethnic cleansing,” one speaker said.
Some members of the crowd became involved in a push and shove with police outside the town hall before the rally moved along Swanston Street and finished at parliament house.
Another demonstration was planned for state parliament in Adelaide on Sunday.
South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said officers would act quickly if the Adelaide protest escalated.
Nationwide rallies erupted after Israel launched dozens of retaliatory strikes in Gaza after Hamas militants crossed the border and killed more than 1000 people in co-ordinated attacks last weekend.
More than a thousand people have gathered at the State Library of Victoria for a rally holding Palestine flags and signs. Credit: 7NEWS Credit: 7NEWS
A rally in Sydney on last Monday, organised by the same people behind Sunday’s Hyde Park demonstration, sparked widespread condemnation after some protesters began chanting anti-Semitic slogans.
Rally organisers distanced themselves from the rhetoric and warned any repeat on Sunday would not be tolerated.
Senior NSW police have not yet enacted extraordinary powers that would permit them to search any person or vehicle in Hyde Park and disperse groups without reasonable grounds.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the additional powers would only be used by officers who believed it was in the interest of public safety.
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