Pro-Palestine Rallies in Sydney CBD To Go Ahead After Police’s Legal Case Dismissed

Sydney Pro-Palestinian event organisers Palestine Action Group have won their legal battle against the NSW Police, and will be rallying this weekend to mark one year since the assault on Gaza. 

Thousands are expected to gather in the city this weekend, with the rally set to begin in Hyde Park rather than at Town Hall.

Earlier this week, NSW Police filed court proceedings to prevent two pro-Palestine protests scheduled for Sydney this long weekend. 

This action followed a request from Police Commissioner Karen Webb to cancel both events, citing safety concerns. 

In a statement, NSW Police explained that officers from Operation Shelter had engaged in negotiations with protest organisers, who submitted a Form 1 for each planned public assembly. However, they were “not satisfied that the protest can proceed safely.”

Palestine Action Group organiser Damian Ridgwell told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time that the group planned to contest the application, calling the attempts to halt the rallies an “attack on fundamental democratic rights.”

“We intend on defending our right to protest and are determined to continue standing for justice for Palestine and Lebanon,” Ridgwell said.

“We do have a right to protest in Australia thankfully and we will be defending that,” he declared. 

Sydney pro-Palestine Organisers Secure Right to Demonstrate

The Palestine Action Group have been organising weekly rallies for almost a year. The organisation describes themselves as a “Sydney-based activist organisation committed to supporting Palestine and opposing Israeli Apartheid.”

Palestine Action Group spokesperson Amal Naser issued a statement after NSW Police dropped their case:

“The police’s case has been dismissed, and our rally this Sunday is officially authorised. Come in large numbers to protest Israels’ disgraceful 12 months genocide in Gaza and our government’s attempts to repress this mass demonstration,” Naser said. 

At a press conference, Naser stated: “Yesterday we succeeded against the NSW police in their attempt to repress our rally…12 months of popular resistance to this genocide by the masses in Australia, protesting week after week in the past year in opposition to the Australian government’s complicity in the genocide”

Naser condemned the “disgusting racist political attack” on the Palestine protests, stating that attempts to infiltrate the movement and incite violence and disruption were completely unacceptable. 

She emphasised that this behaviour was deeply intertwined with the racism faced by Lebanese people in this country. 

Speaking on the steps of the NSW Supreme Court, Naser declared that the rally organisers had  “ultimately got everything we wanted,” according to The Guardian.

The Palestine Action Group will also hold a standing vigil on October 7, which does not require the “Form 1” application usually necessary for protests.

Naser urged a need for widespread participation in the upcoming rallies, declaring, “We need tens of thousands to come out to stop this genocide, and out of control warmongering in the Middle East and our government’s support of that carnage.”

“This week was a show of political attack on our protest and the fact that we are the longest sustained anti-war movement and potentially in Australian history,” Naser said.

More than 40,000 Palestinian Deaths

Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has resulted in at least 41,788 Palestinian deaths and 96,794 injuries since October 7, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. 

As of 6:00 PM in Gaza (01:00 AEST) on October 3, the latest casualty figures are as follows:

• Killed: At least 41,788 people, including nearly 16,500 children
• Injured: More than 96,794 people
• Missing: Over 10,000