For the sixth week in a row, people all over Australia have taken to the streets to demand a ceasefire in Gaza at pro-Palestinian protests that saw tens of thousands of attendees.
Protests and marches took place in the nation’s key cities, with the largest gatherings taking place on Sunday in Sydney and Melbourne.
Nasser Mashni, head of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, referred to the political response to the continuous assault of Gaza as a “vote-changer” in a recent interview.
“We’ll be on the streets every week demanding freedom and self-determination for Palestine – this will be a vote-changer because people feel that they can’t trust MPs who stay silent,” he stated on Sunday. “This will be a vote-changer because people feel that they can’t trust MPs who stay silent.”
“The fact that these demonstrations are attracting so many people is a clear indication that the community is outraged and feels wronged by the way in which our administration is dragging its feet in calling for an immediate ceasefire. It is easy to feel the community’s growing sense of helplessness and frustration.
Mashni stated that people had been signing petitions, sending letters, and making phone calls to MPs, but even though the death toll had crossed 12,000 civilians, “the language here has barely changed and it feels like we’re no closer to action.” Mashni added that despite these efforts, “the language here has barely changed and it feels like we’re no closer to action.”
It was reported that tens of thousands of people showed up to the march in Hyde Park in Sydney, and the police said 15,000 people were outside the State Library Victoria in Melbourne, but the organizers of the latter protest said it was greater than the former.
Speaking to the crowd in Melbourne, Julian Assange’s father stated that the continuous bombing of Gaza would only provoke more wrath and a hunger for justice across the world.
“What do they expect to grow from soil that has been watered with the blood of precious children over the past 36 days? What do they expect will grow?” According to John Shipton.
“I can tell you – rage, a hunger for justice that’s swept around the globe and embraced every human being that is sentient enough to have sympathy for another,” the narrator says. “I can tell you that it’s embraced every human being that is sentient enough to have sympathy for another.”
More than 12,000 Palestinians, including more than 5,000 children, have been murdered as a direct result of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. The invasion came in response to attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of more than 240 more.
Before the gathering in Melbourne marched to Treasury Gardens, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi gave a speech to the assembled people there.
The “genocide” that she referred to in Gaza must be condemned, according to her, and the federal government must do so.
“They can’t even bring themselves to join the chorus of nations that are calling for a ceasefire,” Faruqi said on Sunday. “They just can’t bring themselves to do it.” They have no right to act that way… we will not be silenced.”
On Sunday, there were also demonstrations in support of Palestine in the cities of Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.
New sanctions were declared by the federal government against a number of Hamas members, operatives, and financial facilitators on Saturday. These measures also target a currency exchange that is operated by a single individual.
The announcement was described as a “step in the right direction” by the Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
The executive director of the council, Colin Rubenstein, stated that Israel must quickly eliminate Hamas’ ability to fight war against Israelis in order to provide Palestinians suffering under its oppressive control in Gaza a chance at a brighter future. As a result, “the war in Gaza is currently underway because Israel must remove Hamas’ ability to wage war against Israelis,” Rubenstein added.
On Sunday, people in Sydney and Melbourne showed their solidarity for the hostages who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza by flying kites.
Separately, in Brisbane, there was a rally in support of Israel that had been arranged by New Zealand activist Brian Tamaki, who is associated with the far right.
On the weekend, members of the New Zealand Labour Party defied caretaker traditions by making a demand for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Gaza.
Chris Hipkins, who will soon step down as prime minister, made a statement on Sunday regarding the stance of his party while he was still in government.
“We are seeing devastation and loss of life on a massive scale and in Gaza and Israel,” he said. “We are seeing rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel.”
“Standing by and seeing the awful events we are experiencing without making a call for a ceasefire has become intolerable for me, and it is in direct contradiction to the values upheld by the Labour party. The death of innocent civilians must come to an end.
The Labour party is still in power, but it is now in the position of the opposition because it lost the election on October 14. The Labour party will continue to serve as a caretaker administration while the center-right National party negotiates a governing arrangement with parties on the right.
Hipkins stated that he approached National to make a call for a ceasefire New Zealand’s formal policy – in keeping with the practice of policymaking during the caretaker term – but the new prime minister, Chris Luxon, did not agree with the proposal. Hipkins said that he asked National to make the call for a ceasefire New Zealand’s formal policy.
