A pending court case will not stop pro-Palestine rallies and vigils around the anniversary of the Hamas terror attack on Israel, as one premier says her state is powerless to halt them.
Evidence will be filed on Thursday before a hearing in the NSW Supreme Court to decide on a police push to declare that scheduled rallies in Sydney should not go ahead on Sunday and Monday.
A snap protest has been organised, with the Palestine Action Group Sydney calling on supporters to gather in the court precinct prior to the hearing.
“The application to ban demonstrations commemorating and mourning one year of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and now invasion of Lebanon is an attack on fundamental democratic rights,” the group said.
Organiser Josh Lees said demonstrators needed to protest “more than ever to stop this war and madness that is going on”.
“We’ll be going ahead with our protest on Sunday … regardless of what happens in the court,” he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
NSW has a permit system that allows participants to disobey laws against blocking transport routes, but police can go to court to deny protest permission.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan dismissed suggestions a NSW-style permit system would be effective in blocking similar events planned in Melbourne.
“The permit system is no guarantee that protests won’t go ahead,” she told reporters.
Ms Allan questioned whether people intent on stoking division would bother to request a permit or follow its requirements, adding Victoria Police had adequate power to move on unruly protesters.
Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the events represented a “celebration of death” and should be stopped, arguing Ms Allan could take a more proactive approach.
“If there is a will, there is a way to stop these protests,” he said.
Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, during which about 1200 people were massacred and about 250 were taken hostage.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the date marked the greatest loss of Jewish lives in a single day since the Holocaust and was not a time for protest.
“It’s a day of grieving and a day of remembrance and should be honoured as such,” she told reporters.
Labor Friends of Palestine NSW member Louisa Romanous wrote to NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley on Wednesday urging her to intervene and “allow a peaceful rally and march to occur as planned”.
Weekly rallies had occurred peacefully throughout the year, including most recently following Israeli strikes in Lebanon despite a small number of flags for militant group Hezbollah being flown, Ms Romanous said.
“Notwithstanding the heightened emotions, at no time did the rally feel unsafe or violent,” she said.
Attempts to prohibit Sunday’s rally were “a profound attack on political expression and the right to protest”, Ms Romanous said.
Police cited safety concerns in a letter to organisers, including the crowd likely exceeding the predicted 2000 attendees and a potential safety hazard posed by the recent addition of a dozen planter boxes outside Sydney Town Hall.
Amnesty International Australia and the NSW Council for Civil Liberties were among 40 groups that urged police to back down, saying prohibiting the rallies was a serious departure from the state’s responsibility to uphold the democratic right of protest.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the majority of the Sydney pro-Palestine rallies had gone ahead without incident, but noted the first and most recent events involved serious breaches that could sow community discord.
Israel’s counter-attack in occupied Gaza has killed more than 41,000 people, according to Palestinian officials, with the majority of its more than two million residents facing starvation.
Conflict has escalated in recent days with invasions into southern Lebanon and Iran firing missiles into Israel.
This post was originally published on Michael West.