Following intense clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, nine individuals are facing charges after a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia turned violent in Sydney.

The protest, which took place at Sydney Town Hall on Monday afternoon, saw participants voicing their opposition to Herzog’s state visit. The situation escalated as some protesters were subjected to pepper spray, arrests, physical confrontations, and forceful dispersal by the police.

New South Wales Police reported on Tuesday that nine individuals—comprising seven men and two women, aged between 19 and 67—have been charged with offenses such as assaulting or obstructing police officers, as well as failing to comply with police orders.

Additionally, six more individuals are set to receive court attendance notices for their refusal or failure to follow police instructions.

According to a police statement, tensions flared after the scheduled speeches ended, when parts of the crowd attempted to break through police lines and proceed up George Street, defying a protest restriction order.

“Police issued several directives to the crowd to disperse,” the statement noted.

“When participants failed to comply, officers moved to disperse the crowd, including anyone who had stopped and was blocking pedestrian access.”

Police said scuffles broke out, with 27 people arrested and taken to police stations across Sydney.

Paramedics treated several people after officers deployed capsicum spray, with five taken to hospital for assessment. Two police officers were treated at the scene.

Police said investigations were continuing, with officers reviewing body-worn camera footage and social media vision from the event.

Organisers criticise ‘sickening state violence’

Rally organisers criticised what they called “sickening state violence” by police against demonstrators.

Organisers had hoped to march through the city, but a court decision that upheld the police’s ability to restrict protests scuppered plans.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking to Triple M on Tuesday, said he was “devastated” by what he’d seen from Monday night’s rally.

“These are scenes that I think shouldn’t be taking place,” the prime minister said.

“People should be able to express their views peacefully, but the police were very clear about the routes that were required if people wanted to march to go a particular route, and to ensure that this was done peacefully. But the causes are not advanced by these sort of scenes. Indeed, they’re undermined.”

Palestine Action Group’s (PAG) Josh Lees said on Tuesday police had launched a “violent attack on protesters” on Monday night.

“The vast majority of people in that crowd — not a small minority — either directly experienced or witnessed all around them sickening acts of police brutality against people who were just trying to disperse,” Lees told reporters.

Greens MPs Sue Higginson, Jenny Leong and Abigail Boyd appeared alongside Lees.

Leong called for an “independent investigation and oversight of the police”, whom Higginson said could no longer be trusted by a large proportion of the state.

Higginson said she was calling on the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission to establish an investigation into Monday night’s actions.

“That’s into the individual circumstances of police misconduct, where there was excessive force and violence, police against members of the community, but, importantly, an investigation into this police response, the chosen will of Chris Minns and Mal Lanyon.”

Greens MP says police assaulted her

Boyd, who accused police of punching her in the neck and shoulder during the rally, said she was “in shock” and “very sore”.

She said she’d been up on the steps near Sydney Town Hall recording video footage when she was confronted by police.

She said she was told to move on, but responded that there wasn’t a clear path for her to do so as she would be stepping on top of a group of men who were praying, and that she was then “lifted off the ground” by police.

“As I’m trying to regain my balance, another police officer punches me in the head, and then I get another one after that, who punches me in the shoulder. I don’t understand how that is a proportionate response to anything. I was not doing the wrong thing.”

NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna said police actions were “justified” and he was “very proud” of their conduct.

“I saw the restraint of police tonight. They took more than their time before they utilised any of their powers,” McKenna said during a late-night press conference on Monday night.

“It was really quite precarious at times for our officers who were significantly outnumbered by the protesters and the people who wanted to act in a violent and offensive manner.”

McKenna said officers had been “threatened, jostled and assaulted” during “melees, rolling fights” and “violent behaviour”.

As the demonstration drew to an end, the group moved towards the exit, with some trying to leave and others calling on the hundreds of surrounding police to let them march.

Though there was an exit towards the south side of the block where some could trickle out, along most of the Town Hall square’s mouth, police restricted movement and would not let people march, forcing the large group into a gridlock.

Protesters’ chants soon grew louder and the police presence swelled.

Officers issued a move-on order, but many within the immense, densely packed crowd were unclear on directions, and the situation quickly deteriorated.

Police say 27 people arrested

Police on foot and on horseback formed a front and rushed at the protesters as they tried to disperse the group.

Others were seen beating and deploying pepper spray at attendees, and at one point, a group of Muslim men praying in the square were hauled to their feet by police.

Media, including photographers and those with press passes displayed, were forcibly pushed away from the scene by officers.

Medics kneeled over protesters who had been pepper-sprayed, pouring water into their eyes as they sputtered and hacked up phlegm.

“Instead of respecting the right of 50,000 people who turned up to express their outrage against our government celebrating someone accused of inciting genocide, the police resorted to unleashing unseen violent repression,” PAG wrote in a social media post.

Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting officers.

Before the chaos, the crowd stood peacefully and chanted in between speeches from people including former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, Jewish academic Antony Loewenstein, and Amnesty International Australia spokesperson Mohamed Duar.

Chris Minns says police were put in ‘impossible situation’

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Minns said NSW Police had been put in an “impossible situation” because protest organisers did not comply with a request to stage the demonstration at Hyde Park.

Minns said as a result of that “intransigence”, there was conflict between demonstrators and police.

Minns said police had opposed the protest because a Jewish community event was happening nearby at the International Convention Centre.

“We had 7,000 mourners down at the International Convention Centre, who were mourning the horrible events of the 14 December [terror attack], with the president of Israel,” he said.

“New South Wales police had to keep protesters and mourners separate. As disturbing as the scenes were last night on the news, they weren’t even worse as a result of thousands of people clashing together on the streets of Sydney.”

Lees challenged Minns’ reasoning on Tuesday, calling it “dishonest” and saying it did not excuse the actions of police.

NSW Police commissioner Mal Lanyon said what had occurred at Town Hall was “simply unacceptable” and that police had “held the line” after a large number of people moved down George Street at the end of the rally’s speeches.

“The police did what they needed to do, which was to hold the line and then form and move the protesters back with a view to dispersing them,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“That was designed to keep the community safe. An angry and violent mob marching on police is not a situation I want our officers in. I have been on and on [that] we want calm in our community at the moment. We wanted a respectful and responsible protest. That’s not what we got last night. Our police took action to disperse that protest.”

Protests across the country

Protests in other major Australian cities also drew strong attendance as participants spoke out against Israel’s bombardment and blockade of Gaza — which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since October 2023 — and decried photos of Herzog signing an artillery shell intended for use on the occupied territory.

Herzog was invited to Australia by Albanese after the Bondi terror attack in mid-December.

He visited the scene of the terror attack on Monday and is set to attend more community events on Tuesday.

When asked by the Australian Associated Press if he had a message to protesters, he claimed the demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” Israel’s existence.

A United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which doesn’t speak on behalf of the UN as a whole and has been sharply criticised by Israel, concluded in September that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The commission also said Herzog, Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant had “incited the commission of genocide” in their speeches and statements.

Israel is separately defending a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered provisional measures but has yet to issue a final ruling.

Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide in Gaza, saying it has the right to defend itself.

It “categorically” rejected the commission’s findings as “distorted and false”, while Netanyahu has described the ICJ case as “outrageous” and said Israel has an “unwavering commitment” to international law.

The commission cited comments made by Herzog at a press briefing after Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Hamas-Israel war.

In the days after, Herzog said: “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible.”

The commission said that while the remarks were not a literal call for genocide, they could reasonably be interpreted, in the context of Israel’s military response, as incitement to target Palestinians in Gaza as a group.

Herzog has vehemently denied allegations that his remarks amount to incitement, saying they were taken out of context.

In December 2023, Herzog was also photographed writing the message “I rely on you” on an artillery shell intended for use in Gaza.

The federal government has said Herzog’s visit would provide comfort to the Jewish community.

— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.

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