Key Points
- Chiefs from every police force released a rare joint statement calling for peaceful protest.
- Two pro-Palestinian events will be taking place in Sydney over the long weekend, including a vigil on 7 October.
- NSW Police have said there will be a "significant" police presence at the weekend's events.
NSW Police say they will take "proportionate action" against anyone who commits a criminal offence during pro-Palestinian events set to take place this weekend.
Two pro-Palestinian events are set to go ahead in Sydney over the state's Labour Day long weekend, with one demonstration in Sydney's CBD on 6 October and a vigil planned for 7 October.
The two events, organised by the Sydney-based activist organisation Palestine Action Group, were at risk of being cancelled after NSW Police applied to the state's supreme court to ban the events.
However, a deal struck between police and protest organisers on Thursday resulted in police withdrawing their application to prohibit events and a change of route for the Sunday protest.
Police and organisers also reached an agreement for an event on 7 October, the date that Hamas staged a surprise invasion in Israel and killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to Israel tallies.
Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza following the attack has now killed more than 41,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry and plunged the enclave into a deep humanitarian crisis.
The Palestinian Action Group will be a standing or 'static' vigil on the day, which, unlike a moving protest, doesn't require a permit for police presence.
Speaking to Channel 10's The Project, Palestine Action Group organiser Amal Naser said Monday's event will be a "candlelight vigil to give the community an opportunity to mourn the loss of life over the past 12 months".
NSW Premier Chris Minns will attend a vigil organised by Jewish leaders on October 7 and has called for pro-Palestinian groups to pause activities for the day.
Controversy around the planned pro-Palestine events has also emerged after protests last weekend were co-opted by supporters of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — following Israel's assassination of the group's leader.
Hezbollah has been considered a terrorist organisation by the Australian government since 2021.
Yellow Hezbollah flags and images of leader Hassan Nasrallah were carried through Sydney and Melbourne. One woman has been charged.
On Friday, the police chiefs of every police force in the nation took the rare action of making a joint call, warning that inciting violence on race or religious grounds is illegal, including through the public display of prohibited items.
Praising or encouraging terrorism was also a serious offence, the statement said.
"There is a range of state and commonwealth legislation that can be used by police to uphold community safety and maintain social cohesion," the police forces said on Friday.
Speaking to the media on Friday, NSW police commissioner Karen Webb said the organisers of this weekend's events have agreed that "no flags, portraits or symbols connected to a prohibited terrorist organisation will be displayed".
Webb said police "will not hesitate to take appropriate, proportionate action against anyone who commits a criminal offence".
Naser told The Project's hosts Palestine Action Group organisers have encouraged attendees not to bring flags associated with Hezbollah "not because we agree with these racist laws that are targeting protestors but rather because we don't want our attendees to be getting into unnecessary trouble".
Around 5,000 people are expected to participate in the 6 October protest, which will now commence in Hyde Park instead of Town Hall as initially planned.
NSW assistant police commissioner Peter McKenna said on Friday there would be "significant police resources in place" around Sydney's CBD over the weekend, in particular for Sunday's protest march.
"We have an agreement with the organisers thus far about what they can and can't do.
"If they stick to that agreement and the people who come to this protest do it in good faith and for the right reasons, then hopefully ... there will be no issues."
With reporting from the Australian Associated Press.
