Pro-Palestine protests that have been held every week in Sydney and Melbourne since 7 October 2023 will now switch focus to pressuring the federal government into cutting ties with Israel, organisers have said.
Amal Naser, from the Palestine Action Group (PAG), called the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel a “step forward” for the pro-Palestine movement in Australia, and said the group would now pivot from weekly protests to targeted protests that call for specific policy change in government.
Each week since Israel invaded Gaza in the aftermath of the 7 October attack, the demonstrations have attracted thousands of people and become one of the longest running anti-war protests in Australian history.
The ceasefire deal includes an agreement to pause fighting and an agreement to swap hostages in Gaza for Palestinians held in detention by Israel.
“This is certainly a victory for the people of Gaza, and something Israel did not want,” Naser said. “We are seeing the release of over 1,000 Palestinian political prisoners, who were often held in direct violation of international rules and standards.
“We will continue to protest, but the frequency and the duration of that is just going to depend on what happens on the ground. Our focus will be on the Australian government and shifting its position on Israel.”
The Australian government shifting position at the UN, moving from abstaining on a vote on the occupation of Palestinian territories to voting for an end to the Israeli occupation, reflected the success of the protests, Naser said.
“We saw these major shifts in how [Australia] responded at the United Nations, and these are a reflection of our [PAG] impact.”
She said the movement would also aim to pressure Australia into upholding international legal findings against Israel, including the international criminal court’s (ICC) arrest warrant issued in November against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant. An arrest warrant was also issued for the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif.
The court found there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes carried out as part of the war in Gaza.
“We want to see Australia uphold these decisions, and to see a commitment to the findings of the ICC and to see them commit to arresting leaders who have arrest warrants issued against them,” Naser said.
“We want to see politicians upholding international law, but right now we are seeing both sides of the political spectrum seeking to sustain relationships with Israel. This is far from what we should be doing.”
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomed the release of hostages, adding that he hoped the ceasefire deal would reduce community tensions.
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“Of course, hostages should never have been taken in the first place and the fact they’ve been kept for 15 months has prolonged the conflict in the region,” he said on Monday.
“Our thoughts are also with the remaining hostages though, we must now see their full release and the ceasefire deal implemented in full, including increased aid into Gaza where people have suffered enormously, innocent people.”
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 47,000 people, including 13,319 child victims, according to health officials in the territory.
The president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, Nasser Mashni, said he expected the pro-Palestinian movement to keep applying pressure on Canberra.
He said he wanted to see Australia “take a more proactive and more forceful position, a position it took with great courage to end apartheid in South Africa”.
“We want Australia to do what it has following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to do that for Palestine. And that is … to start talking about diplomatic measures including sanctions, including divestment, that should preclude our financial institutions, super and investment funds, from holding assets that contribute to the oppression and genocide of Palestinians.”
He said Palestine would be an election issue in Australia.
“I have no doubt that Palestine will be an electoral issue. Palestine can’t be ignored any more, and Palestine will have an impact on the next federal election.”
