“We will not back down until there is liberation, justice, and freedom”: Palestine rally ends in arrest of three protesters

The Palestine Action Group (PAG) protest against the ongoing genocide against Palestinians as well as two other protests have collectively resulted in the arrest of 22 people over the weekend. It marks the twenty-fourth consecutive week of the Free Palestine protests in Sydney and a six harrowing months since the genocide first began. 

Organisers condemned the ongoing support and involvement of Western governments and their leaders including  Joe Biden, David Cameron, Justin Trudeau, Anthony Albanese, and Penny Wong The official death toll currently is more than 30,000 Palestinians. 

“Western complicity runs deep,” says Amal Naser, a third-generation Palestinian refugee and PAG organiser. “It is the West who have fuelled this genocide and paraded Israel’s right to self-defence.” 

Indeed, the United States remains the largest economic benefactor toward Israel within the conflict, funnelling approximately $3.3 billion a year to the country in both foreign and military aid. 

In Australia, national funding towards arms and ammunition used by Israel has amounted to $13 million over the past 5 years. Further, Australia’s supply of F-35 jet fighters has been linked to bombing attacks within Gaza. 

While  Australia and the United Kingdom have recently called for immediate ceasefires in the conflict after a joint statement delivered on March 21 Naser warns, “These countries do not suddenly have moral clarity — they are wiping their hands clean of the blood of our martyrs because we have collectively cornered them into doing so.” 

“Their decisions tell us this is the beginning of the end of Zionism.” 

Palestinian activist Jana Fayyad also criticised former US President Senior Adviser Jared Kushner who in an interview last month stated that Israel should “move the people out and then clean it up”  arguing that Gaza’s “waterfront property could be very valuable”. 

“Israeli settlers have been expanding their presence across the occupied West Bank at unprecedented levels. This was planned all along.” 

Fayyad then urged protesters to rally against the arrival of Israel-owned shipping line ZIM in Port Botany the following day. The rally, which occurred on Sunday, March 24, achieved a three-hour unloading delay but resulted in the arrest of 19 people, including the Secretary and members of the Maritime Union of Australia. 

Protesters then marched through the streets of Sydney, chanting and making noise with pots and pans, where three protesters were also arrested “after red food dye was reportedly squirted on police officers”. 

These arrests highlight a marked rise in the policing of such events. 

Despite this, Fayyad maintains the enduring resilience needed in the fight to freedom: “The people in Gaza have been experiencing a genocide for close to six months. They’re facing famine, starvation, carpet bombings, disease, and everything you can think of. But the people of Gaza are still standing. The people of the West Bank are still standing. The people of 1948 are still standing. And we will not back down until there is liberation, justice, and freedom.” 

Palestine Action Group will continue their twenty-fifth weekly protest next Sunday, March 31  at 1:30pm in Hyde Park North.