Thousands rally at pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country

Key PointsThousands of people have attended pro-Palestinian rallies across the country on Friday and Sunday.Despite a large presence at a Sydney rally on Sunday, NSW Police said the demonstration concluded without incident.Over a million Palestinians in Gaza have been warned to evacuate, ahead of an expected ground offensive from Israel.

Thousands of Australians have attended pro-Palestinian rallies across the country.

Despite being warned away by NSW Police, around 6,000 people in Sydney’s Hyde Park peacefully protested against

on Sunday, amid a large police presence – more than 1,000 officers deployed across the city – that included members of the riot, mounted and canine units.

An estimated 10,000 people protested in Melbourne and more than 1,000 in Adelaide, following rallies on Friday in Brisbane and Perth.

Protesters held signs calling for an end to the Gaza blockade and a ceasefire.

Victoria Police estimated more than 10,000 people attended a rally in Melbourne on Sunday. Source: SBS News / Phillippa Carisbrooke

“(Israel’s actions) are the very definition of collective punishment,” Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi told the Sydney rally.

One of the organisers contrasted Australian leaders’ backing of a Yes vote for an

and recognition while concurrently supporting a “colonial, settler and fascist” regime in Israel.

Muslim, Christian and Jewish speakers called for peace as hundreds of uniformed NSW Police officers watched on.

Jasminka Hadzimustafic said she was there to support innocent people caught up in the conflict.

“I’m not Palestinian, I’m not Arab, I’m just a human being,” she told the Australian Associated Press.

Nationwide rallies erupted earlier in the week after

, following Hamas militants crossing the border and killing more than 1,300 people in coordinated attacks last weekend.

Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, which has gained power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006. Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

Israeli jets and artillery subjected Gaza to the most intense bombardment it has ever seen, putting the enclave, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under total siege.

Gaza authorities say more than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded.

A rally in Sydney last Monday, organised by the same people behind Sunday’s Hyde Park demonstration, sparked

.

Rally organisers distanced themselves from the rhetoric and warned any repeat on Sunday would not be tolerated.

NSW Police said a “high-visible police operation” for Sunday’s rally concluded with “no significant incidents” and no arrests made.

They did not enact extraordinary powers that would permit them to search any person or vehicle and disperse groups without reasonable grounds.

The Sydney rally had a strong police presence, with more than 1,000 officers deployed across the city. Source: AAP / Steven Saphore

In Melbourne, protesters holding Palestine flags and signs converged outside the State Library of Victoria and surrounding streets for a rally. Victoria Police said there were no “major incidents of note” or arrests.

The crowd, led by outgoing Greens Senator Janet Rice, chanted “free, free Palestine” and heard speeches as police patrolled.

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.

Protesters gathered outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne. Source: SBS News / Phillippa Carisbrooke

In Adelaide, protesters gathered on the steps of the Parliament of South Australia.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the demonstrations were disappointing, noting that the rallies took place “just days after the deadliest slaughter of Jews for 80 years”.

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