KEY POINTSHundreds of pro-Palestinian have rallied in Sydney. They marched from Town Hall to the Opera House, which was lit up in blue and white in support of Israel.Large crowds also gathered in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday night.
Hundreds marched in solidarity with Palestinians after the Israeli government in response to its surprise attack.
The Sydney rally, organised by the Palestine Action Group Sydney, is demanding Australia cut ties with Israel and urging supporters to “protest in solidarity with Palestine”.
Attendees marched from Town Hall to the Sydney Opera House on Monday, arriving at about 7pm, where the iconic landmark was lit up in blue and white in support of Israel.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for restraint.
“I absolutely believe (the march) should not (go ahead),” he told Sydney radio 2GB.
“I think people need to really take a step back.”
Protesters marched from Town Hall to the Sydney Opera House. Source: AAP / DEAN LEWINS/AAPIMAGE
Speaking from Town Hall, activist and academic Fahad Ali called on the crowd to resist Israeli occupation of Palestine.
“We’ve suffered 75 years of dispossession, denied our rights to life and liberty, under an ever-worsening occupation by a colonial regime that has perpetrated every kind of atrocity upon us,” he said.
Hundreds of attendees cheered as dozens of people waved Palestinian and Aboriginal flags.
“Resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied,” supporters chanted as the crowd marched down Pitt Street.
“Free free Palestine,” others shouted back.
The Sydney rally, organised by the Palestine Action Group Sydney, is demanding Australia cut ties with Israel and urging supporters to “protest in solidarity with Palestine”. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
NSW Police said officers would be present at the rally and “work with protesters to ensure is were no breaches of the peace and there is minimal impact to the community” the force said in a statement.
Large crowds also gathered in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday night where Hamas’ attacks on Israel were celebrated as acts of “courage” and “resistance”.
In Lakemba, footage emerged of a group chanting “occupation is the crime” and “Palestine will be free”.
Many held signs, including “stop persecuting Muslims” and “stand for the oppressed”.
Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun told the crowd the attacks on Israel were an act of resistance.
“I’m elated, it’s a day of courage, it’s a day of pride, it’s a day of victory – this is the day we’ve been waiting for,” he said.
“Seventy-five years of occupation, 15 years of blockade.
“What happened yesterday was the first time our brothers and sisters broke through the largest prison on earth.”
Albanese condemned the comments.
“There’s nothing to celebrate by the murder of innocent civilians going about their day,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the remarks “don’t have any place in Australian society” and “for people to somehow provide moral support to those actions is an absolutely appalling act.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry spokesman Alex Ryvchin described the rally as a “sickening display”.
But the Lebanese Muslim Association accused the government of hypocrisy in its support of Israel, describing the treatment of Indigenous Australians as akin to the “persecution inflicted on the people of Palestine by Israel”.
“Our First Nations people, the good citizens of Palestine and other oppressed peoples around the world should all be regarded as the same,” the association said.
The Australian National Imams Council said the government should avoid “one-sided statements of support which ignore the Palestinian people”.
The is the latest in a long-standing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, gaining power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006.
Hamas’s stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
