Organisers Pledge to Challenge Police Attempt to Halt Pro-Palestinian Protest at Opera House

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The organisers of a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney are determined to challenge the legal action initiated by NSW Police, aiming to prevent the demonstration from taking place.

The demonstration calls for Australia to impose sanctions on Israel due to its continuing attacks on Gaza and to cease the export of F-35 fighter jet components to Israel, with the event scheduled for Sunday, October 12.

The plan is to commence in Hyde Park, in the city’s CBD — a location for regular rallies by the organisers for nearly two years — and proceed through the city to conclude at the Sydney Opera House forecourt.

NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna stated on Friday that the organising group, Palestine Action Group, submitted a ‘Form 1’ permit to the police for a public gathering on that day.

McKenna informed reporters of his discussions with the protest’s organisers and representatives of the Opera House, adding that he has directed the NSW Office of General Counsel to file an objection against the rally in the NSW Supreme Court.

Citing public safety concerns for the decision, McKenna said police had suggested alternate routes to organisers, and discussions were ongoing.

The Palestine Action Group dismissed police concerns over public safety and said it would fight the legal bid to stop the protest.

“The extraordinary measures police propose are racist, Islamophobic, and a deliberate attempt to intimidate our movement against genocide into silence,” it said in a statement.

“International human rights law guarantees the right to protest, the right to free expression, and the right to political assembly.

“The attempt to restrict our rally violates these rights and sets a dangerous precedent for all movements for justice.”

The planned protest date marks just over two years of Israel’s ongoing military assault in Gaza, which started after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

Around 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 attack, with more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s actions have resulted in over 65,000 Palestinian deaths and left the region devastated, with an urgent lack of essential resources like food, drinking water, and safe accommodation.

A large group of protesters, many waving Palestinian flags.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held in Sydney almost weekly for the past two years. Source: Getty / Lisa Maree Williams

Famine was declared in Gaza City in August, and more than 641,000 people are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, according to United Nations figures.

When announcing the protest earlier this week, Palestine Action Group said 7 October marked “two years since Israel launched its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people”, which it said had continued to escalate under the “protection” of Australian and other Western governments.

McKenna said he understood it was a “significant anniversary for probably both sides”, and there were high public emotions surrounding the date.

McKenna insisted NSW Police were not “anti-protest” and had facilitated demonstrations by the Palestine Action Group for two years, but that the Opera House site could not accommodate the number of people that protest organisers had indicated would attend.

Upon announcing the protest earlier this week, the Palestine Action Group highlighted the symbolic importance of using the Opera House as the location for the upcoming rally this month.

A large group of protesters on the Opera House forecourt, many waving Palestinian flags.

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside the Sydney Opera House in October 2023. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins

The venue had “long been a symbol of anti-war protest”, it said, referencing the words “No War” being painted on its sails in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq War.

The group said the NSW government had “tarnished” that legacy by lighting the sails in the colours of Israel’s flag a few days after the October 7 attack in 2023.

The Opera House was also the site of a pro-Palestine protest shortly after the October 7 attack.