Police make arrests as thousands march in Australia to mourn Palestinians - MASHAHER

Key Points

Thousands have marched in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide to commemmorate Palestinians and Lebanese killed.
Monday marks the first anniversary of Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel.
It also marks a year of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, killing over 41,000 people.

Thousands of people gathered at rallies in Sydney and Melbourne to mourn Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment that began a year ago after Hamas’ attack on Israel.

Demonstrators in Sydney, which numbered 10,000 according to police, were warned that displaying Hezbollah flags could amount to a criminal offence, as many people also gathered in solidarity with victims of Israel’s airstrikes on Lebanon.

Signs from NSW Police were displayed in English and Arabic at the Sydney rally, reading: “The Hezbollah flag, symbols and portraits of Hassan Nasrallah should not be displayed at the public assembly and could amount to a criminal offence”.

NSW Police confirmed a 56-year-old man was arrested and later charged, for holding up an Israeli flag with a Nazi swastika in the position of its Star of David.

Police checking green and yellow flags during a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Some individuals were carrying flags with green and yellow, which are the colours of Hezbollah’s official ensign.

One man was questioned by police in Sydney for holding a green and yellow flag featuring a figure holding a gun in the air and writing in English.

Protester Shorna Southwell said she’s been attending the rallies weekly dressed as a different princess.

She said she wore costumes to make children feel safe at the protest and to spread the message the protests are not violent.

Shorna Southwell has been coming to the protests almost every week dressed as a different ‘princess’ to show children that people care about their safety and these protests are not violent. Source: SBS News / Phoebe Deas

Melbourne rally commemorates Palestinians killed

In Melbourne, four arrests were made as the rallies lasted over five hours in the city centre.

“Around 7,000 people attended the demonstration and there were no major issues of note reported to police, however, four people were arrested for public order related matters,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said in a statement.

Some attendees had made paper kites with the names of Palestinian children killed in the past year written on them.

Australian Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni spoke of the Palestinians killed in Gaza, addressing huge crowds gathered outside the State Library of Victoria.

Paper kites with the names of Palestinian children, in Melbourne. Source: SBS News / Tys Occhiuzzi

“It’s shameful that we’re being asked to be respectful when we’ve had 365 October 7s in this period,” he said.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said Victoria Police were prepared to react to any incidents at the scheduled protests.

“They are well prepared with the tools and the resources and the powers that they need to be able to respond to any instances that may threaten community safety,” she said.

A man in a black shirt and black and white scarf

Mohammed has attended the weekly protest in Melbourne for the first time. Source: Supplied / Tys Occhiuzzi

Australia’s Lebanese population is estimated at around 250,000.

Some, like Melbourne resident Mohammed, attended the weekly protest for the first time this weekend.

“Children should not be getting killed. Under any circumstances. Israeli, Muslim, Christian, Jewish – children should not be killed,” he said.

A woman wearing a keffiyeh and holding up her phone

Taznim said five of her family members were killed last night. Source: SBS News / Tys Occhiuzzi

Palestinian woman Taznim told SBS News five of her family members had been killed overnight in Gaza.

“We’re devastated. It’s been a year of getting news about families being annihilated in Gaza. It has to stop.”

Government says protests “regrettable”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles criticised the timing of the protests.

“The protests that are happening over the course of today and tomorrow are deeply regrettable,” he told ABC’s Insiders program.

“The anniversary of October 7 needs to be about October 7 and what happened on that day was the loss of more than 1,000 innocent lives.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the timing of the demonstration lacked “compassion” and there was a high prospect of violence when tensions were high.

NSW Police warning against Hezbollah flags during a Pro-Palestine rally in Sydney, 6 October 2024. Source: AAP / aap

“Most people would agree that we’re not going to do much about Middle Eastern violence from Sydney, and we have to do everything we possibly can to prevent that kind of violence in Sydney,” he said.

Federal opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the federal government should have made a bigger effort to persuade community leaders not to hold the rallies.

“We’re not saying that you can’t protest the Palestinian cause, we’re just saying pick any other day of the year than October 7,” he told Sky News.

More than 1200 people were killed during the October 7 attack and 250 people were taken hostage by Hamas, according to the Israeli government.

In response, Israel unleashed a bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza, killing almost 42,000 people, displacing 1.9 million and leaving another 500,000 with catastrophic levels of food insecurity, local health ministry sources report.

Israel’s military campaign has now spread to Lebanon as it hunts down senior figures in Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Islamist political party and militant group formed in 1982 after Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon that year.

People have gathered in Australia on Sunday at a rally ahead of the first anniversary of Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel. Source: SBS News / Tys Occhiuzzi

Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, the US, Germany and the UK. The European Union lists only its military wing as a terrorist organisation.

However, Hezbollah itself makes no distinction between its political and military wings.

With additional reporting by AAP.

Source Agencies