Israel Hamas war: Pro-Palestine demonstration erupts at Parliament House

Publish date: 2024-06-28

Hundreds of protesters gathered on the front lawns of Parliament House in Canberra, waving Palestinian flags in front of a confronting display of white cloths laid out to represent children killed in Gaza.

The cloths were placed in bundles, with names and ages of those who had died in the conflict. They were laid between teddy bears and pairs of shoes, under a sign that read: “Stop the genocide in Gaza. Ceasefire now.”

The 400 protestors, many arriving from Sydney and Melbourne, heard from members of the Free Palestine movement, including activists, academics and religious leaders, who called out the government’s inaction.

“Albanese you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide,” the protestors chanted.

With Labor is refusing to back calls for a ceasefire so far, many Muslim and multicultural communities have become increasingly angered by the government’s response.

“We know we’ll be voting for the Greens. Labor be threatened. We’ll be using democracy to vote for the Greens,” the rally’s MC said.

The MC also accused the government of being responsible for the bloodshed witnessed during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Penny Wong, where are you? Where’s your consciousness? Albanese, where are you?” they said.

“You have blood on your hands, blood stained hands.”

A Palestinian flag was also erected by a demonstrator on one of the flag poles at Parliament House.

“This is a message to the Israeli occupation: that we are from Australia, from stolen land, tell you we stand with the Palestinian people. We stand with the Indigenous people. We stand with hope,” the MC said.

Greens leader Adam Bandt also addressed the crowd on Monday afternoon, where he was met with loud cheers.

In his speech, Mr Bandt called for the government to immediately support a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to prevent further casualties in Gaza, where the death toll has climbed about 10,000 according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“We now have over 11,000 civilians dead, over 4,000 of them children … Labor refused to join the rest of the calls of France and most of the rest of the world and call for a ceasefire,” Mr Bandt told the crowd.

Bandt’s address follows comments from Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Sunday, where she called on Israel to halt attacks on hospitals in the embattled enclave to avoid further civilian deaths.

“We need steps towards a ceasefire. It cannot be one-sided. We know that Hamas is still holding hostages, and we know that a ceasefire must be agreed between the parties,” Wong told the ABC’s Insiders program.

But the comments failed to appease the Greens.

“We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe unfold in front of our eyes - no food, no water, no food, no fuel, people starving, dehydration, being bombed ... and yet still, Labor will not call for a ceasefire,” Mr Bandt said.

“Labor says that it is concerned about the rising number of civilian casualties - so I ask the Prime Minister, how high does the number need to grow before Labor will join France and the rest of the world in calling for a ceasefire?” he asked.

“How many more children need to die? How many more civilians need to suffer?”

Mr Bandt promised that the Greens would continue to support the pro-Palestine cause.

“We will come back day after day after day to call for a ceasefire now and an end to the occupation because Palestinians are entitled to live in the same just peace and security as Israeli,” he said.

the approximately 400 protestors, many arriving from Sydney and Melbourne, heard from a members of the Free Palestine movement, including activists, academics and religious leaders, who called out the government’s inaction.