Darwin rally permanent ceasefire on international day of solidarity with Palestinians
Territorians rallied at Bagot Rd to mark the international day of solidarity with Palestine, demanding a permanent ceasefire.
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Pro-Palestine protesters have gathered on Bagot Rd to join global calls for a permanent military ceasefire for the UN-observed International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Fifty people attended the rally organised by activist group Territorians for Palestine, draping a banner reading: Honk 4 Ceasefire over a bridge on the highway on Wednesday evening.
The peaceful gathering consisted of concerned residents across a range of communities, ages and professions wanting to make sure their voices were heard, said Territorians for Palestine member Alexander Broers.
“We wanted to make sure that Darwin was not silent while the rest of the world stands against what the UN is calling a genocide occurring in real-time,” he said.
“[We] came together to add our voices for the collective international call for a sustained ceasefire and an immediate end to the genocide occurring against the Palestinian people,
“We received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from passing traffic which is demonstrative of how most Darwin residents feel when it comes to Palestinian solidarity.”
This is the latest of several pro-Palestine events organised by the group following last week’s rally at Nightcliff, slamming Territorian leaders for their absence.
Mr Broers, who is also an organiser for the larger Darwin 4 Palestine group, has been holding weekly protests which he said was the “minimum” we should be doing as a country.
“Remaining silent is simply not an option when genocide is occurring, it is even more important to show up when our government chooses to abstain from actively standing against it,” he said.
“It is horrifying that our government is willing to stand by and stay silent while an actual genocide is occurring right now,
“These are not the values that Australia represents. Our elected officials need to do better, and until our government does so we will continue raising our collective voices.”
The next rally will take place on December 10, at 5pm at the Foreshore Park, Nightcliff as part of International Human Rights Day with Mr Broers urging “everyone to come and take a stand.”
Israel and Hamas entered a six-day truce on November 24 with mediators racing to reach agreement on another extension after a final exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Seventy Israeli hostages have been freed in return for 210 Palestinian prisoners since the truce began.
The temporary ceasefire ends on Thursday morning local time with the final group of hostages freed from Gaza in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners overnight.
It has been seven weeks since war broke out after militant group Hamas raided Israel on October 7 in the worst attack in the country’s history, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240, according to Israeli authorities.
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