Key Points
- Pro-Palestinian rallies were held in Melbourne and Sydney.
- Protesters called for an end to the Gaza war.
- Activists called on the federal government to push for a permanent ceasefire.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters shut down Melbourne’s busiest intersection, dumping rubble and body bags during a sit-in protest.
Activists on Sunday gathered on the corner of Flinders and Swanson streets to recreate the wreckage of a bomb site as they lit flares and waved mock missiles and drones while others lay like casualties on the ground.
“Today, the city was witness to the scenes and sounds of the war in Gaza,” a statement from the activists read.
Describing the closure of the city’s intersection as “a mere inconvenience”, the group said it paled in comparison to the 80 per cent of buildings destroyed in Gaza.
More than 36,280 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel attacked the enclave in response to Hamas’ 7 October assault in southern Israel, according to authorities.
The Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people, with 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The activists’ group called on the federal government to end the production, export and contracts of weapons manufacturing with Israel and Israeli companies as well as and expel the Israeli ambassador.
The Greens candidate vying for Bob Hawke’s old seat at the next federal election addressed protesters outside the State Library.
Samantha Ratnam, who stepped down as leader of the Victorian Greens for a tilt at the seat of Wills, said hundreds of community members feel “betrayed and abandoned” by Labor as they grieve over Gaza.
She said people were sick of professional politicians who backed Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Ratnam called on the government to stop backing the invasion and call for a permanent ceasefire.
“People have been gathering in their thousands in Melbourne and across Australia every Sunday since Israel began invading Gaza,” Ratnam said.
“This is becoming the largest movement for peace and they are working in peace to end the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
A pro-Palestinian rally was also held at Hyde Park in Sydney.
“This week we have seen some of the most deadly and greatest massacres conducted by the Israeli regime to date,” Palestine Action Group activist Amal Naser told a crowd of hundreds.
“Our politicians have no red lines when it comes to Israel.
“We will not wait for them to develop their own red line … we have to continue filling the streets, we have to continue escalating and so our governments and so our leadership can no longer ignore us,” she said.
The rallies come after activists proclaimed Friday a “national day of action against Labor MPs”, at some politicians’ offices.