Protests against Israel’s war on Gaza took place across Australia for the 61st consecutive week over the weekend of December 7–8.
The Israeli genocide included targetting homes in refugee camps in central Gaza, and in northern Gaza. Eyewitnesses say Israeli drones armed with guns shot people inside the hospital.
“Why do we get injured, especially medical staff?”, asked one doctor who spoke to Al Jazeera. Days earlier, the head of intensive care was killed by an Israeli attack.
In one attack, Israeli forces . Al Jazeera said Israeli civilian contractors are in Rafah, and most of the city of Gaza has been destroyed.
Amnesty International on December 5, stating that Israel is committing the crime of genocide in Gaza.
The 296-page report, You feel like you are subhuman: Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, focussed on Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023.
Agnes Callamard, AI secretary general, said that it had looked at statements by the Israeli war cabinet — “those at the highest level” — and “how soldiers had interpreted those statements … and how they called for the dehumanisation of Palestinians and for the obliteration of Gaza”.
“We looked at the entire context as well — one of apartheid, dispossession, military occupation. And the only reasonable conclusion we could make is that Israel intended to commit genocide.
“[T]here is sufficient evidence to believe that Israel’s conduct in Gaza following October 7 2023 amounts to genocide.”
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Thousands marched against this genocide from the State Library to Flinders St Station and ended at Camp Sovereignty in Naarm/Melbourne for the 61st weekly protest, reports Jacob Andrewartha.
The protest featured a strong focus on linking First Nations sovereignty with Palestinian liberation and heard from veteran First Nations activists including Gary Foley, Uncle Robbie Thorpe and Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Thorpe said it is outrageous that Benjamin Netanyahu is allowed to walk freely and that it is shameful that the Albanese government is doing nothing to hold him accountable for his actions. She said it is up to us to make a “citizen’s arrest” so he can face justice for his crimes.
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The protest also condemned the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 6 as an antisemitic attack.
Nasser Mashni, president of Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, who chaired the protest, said: “To whomever set fire to the Adass Israel synagogue, know this, you are a racist, you are a fascist, you are a Nazi. This is not your movement, you are not welcome here, you do not belong here.”
Other speakers included Palestinian activists Noura Mansour and Lana Abdelhalim along with Steve Sosebee, founder of Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
Dave, a United Workers’ Union delegate involved in the 17-day Woolworths warehouse strike made the links between standing up against billion-dollar corporations like Woolworths and opposing the genocide in Gaza.
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More than 1000 marched in Gadigal Country/Sydney for the 61st consecutive week, reports Peter Boyle.
Palestine Action Group activist Dalia Qasem cited the AI report that concluded that “Israel has carried out acts against the Geneva Convention and is treating Palestinians as subhuman”.
A university student told the crowd that students should not be penalised for wearing a keffiyeh after a Palestinian student at Condell Park High School was banned from his year 12 formal for wearing one.
He said a lot of solidarity had been shown to the banned student, including a rally held outside the school.
A 13-year-old Palestinian-Australian said “children like me are facing death and trauma in Gaza”. She called on Labor to act against Israel’s genocide.
Speakers condemned the Synagogue attack in Naarm. They said it should not be used as an excuse to clamp down on Palestine solidarity protests.
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Alex Salmon reports that more than 500 people attended a protest organised by Friends of Palestine WA in Walyalup/Fremantle on December 7 demanding an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Protesters demanded that Labor sanction Israel by imposing a two-way arms embargo and agreeing to arrest Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant in line with the International Criminal Court-issued arrest warrants.
Speakers included Professor Fiona Stanley, who read "If I must Die" by Palestinian Poet Rafeet Aleerer who was killed by Israel in December 2023.
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The crowd was also addressed by Anna Copeland from Academics for Palestine and Greens WA candidate and journalist Sophie McNeil.
There were strong contingents from Unionists for Palestine, Jews for Palestine and Student for Palestine.
Protesters demanded that local Labor MP Josh Wilson break with his party’s position on Palestine or resign, following an open letter signed by 113 prominent Walyalup-based artists.
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Protesters marched through the centre of Tharawal/Wollongong on December 7. The protest was organised by Wollongong Friends of Palestine, which has been organising protests weekly since March.
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Niko Leka reports that the community picket outside weapons factory Nupress in Muloobinba/Newcastle was a success, forcing the company to rearrange and disrupt its shifts.
Nupress produces parts for the F-35 fighter jets used by Israel to commit genocide in Gaza. Spokesperson Regan Dubois said “our message to Nupress is clear: We’ll stop protesting and picketing when you stop making parts for weapons”.
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