Thousands turn out in pro-Palestinian protests held across Australia
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Demonstrators holding placards as they take part in the "Nationwide March for Palestine" protest in Sydney on Aug 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY - Thousands of Australians joined pro-Palestinian rallies on Aug 24, organisers said, amid strained relations between Israel and Australia following the centre-left government's decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
More than 40 protests took place across Australia on Aug 24, said the Palestine Action Group, including large turnouts in state capitals Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
The group said around 350,000 attended the rallies nationwide, including around 50,000 in Brisbane, though police estimated the numbers there at closer to 10,000.
Police did not have estimates for crowd sizes in Sydney and Melbourne.
In Sydney, organiser Josh Lees said Australians were out in force to “demand an end to this genocide in Gaza and to demand that our government sanction Israel” as rallygoers, many with Palestinian flags, chanted “free, free Palestine”.
Mr Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella group for Australia’s Jews, told Sky News television that the rallies created “an unsafe environment and shouldn’t be happening”.
The protests follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week stepping up personal attacks
Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel soured after Mr Albanese’s Labor government said it would conditionally recognise Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain and Canada.
The Aug 11 announcement came days after tens of thousands of people marched across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge, calling for peace and aid deliveries to Gaza, where Israel began an offensive nearly two years ago after militant group Hamas launched a deadly cross-border attack.
Palestinian authorities say the conflict has claimed the lives of more than 60,000 people in Gaza, while humanitarian organisations say a shortage of food is leading to widespread starvation. REUTERS
