Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in Adelaide

Calls to end the war and “free Palestine’’ dominated a gathering of more than 1000 people on the steps of SA’s Parliament House on Sunday.

A 'Solidarity with Palestine' rally was held in Adelaide on Sunday at Parliament house. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Calls to end the war and “free Palestine’’ dominated a gathering of more than 1000 people on the steps of SA’s Parliament House on Sunday.

A passionate but well-behaved crowd chanted “End the siege on Gaza’’ “Long live Palestine’’ and held up signs including “Palestine has a right to resist’’ before marching to Victoria Square in a sea of red, green, black and white Palestinian flags.

Friends of Palestine Australia spokesman Mike Khizam said that “Israel was embarking on an ethnic cleansing campaign in front of the whole world’’.

“One massacre does not deserve another,’’ Mr Khizam said, referring to invasion of Israel by terror group Hamas last weekend.

Concerns for Adelaide’s pro-Palestinian rally have been growing since Monday following Sydney’s protest which saw anti-Semitic messages chanted by several attendees. SAPOL said there had been no arrests and it been “pleased with the conduct of the crowd who behaved in a safe, orderly and lawful manner’’

The crowd was urged by Mr Khizam not to “let people provoke us into doing something stupid.

We are here for Palestine that is our sole message and we all need to work together, he said.

Rally MC Ahmed Azhar said the march was to “stand on the side of the oppressed’’.

“To stand with the two-and-a-half million innocent people, the million children inside of that prison called Gaza, who are being punished for a crime that they did not commit.

“We abhor injustice, oppression and racism in all of its forms. Whether that be Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or any other vile form of racism.’’

Another speaker, Imad Mahmoud, said he didn’t want people to support Hamas but “I expect you to support the civilians, the children who are dying’’.

In the crowd, protester Hawra said “right now as we speak, children are being killed, hospitals are being bombed’’ and had a message for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Okay, Prime Minister, who’s saying that Israeli have the right to defend themselves. Well, I tell you Palestinians have the rights to free themselves,’’ she said.

The crowd also chanted “Free Free Palestine from the river to the sea’’, a slogan which the Anti Defamation League in the US implies “the dismantling of the Jewish state’’.

Organisers said another rally would be held on Sunday.

After the trouble last week, a Pro-Palestine rally has gone off without a hitch in the Sydney CBD, with more than 6000 people converging on Hyde Park.

Men and women wearing the black and white Palestinian keffiyeh held signs saying “Palestinian lives matter” and held pictures of dead children.

In contrast to Monday’s anger-filled protest, the mood was sombre, with a quranic lament played out over the speakers.

Palestinian Action group organiser Josh Lees said they had lodged the paperwork to protest at Town Hall next Saturday with an intention to march in the streets.

He urged protesters to do nothing that could be regarded as anti-Semitic.

“We know the government and police are looking for any excuse to try and prohibit our right to protest,” he said.

“So that’s one thing we must be clear on today, we must be disciplined, we must be peaceful.

“Anti-Semitism has no place in our movement.

In Melbourne, Police estimated about 10,000 people attended a pro-Palestine rally in the CBD on Sunday where crowds chanted “shame” and “stop the killing, stop the crime”.

No arrests were made but a flare was lit up by a member of the crowd.

Speaking earlier at the protest, which began at the State Library about midday, Indigenous activist Oscar Martin slammed the federal government’s support of Israel.

“What has been happening it is truly disgusting,” Mr Martin said to the crowd.

He then drew parallels between the invasion of Israel and the history of Australia’s Aboriginal community.

“The Australian ruling class continues to lock us up, deny the basic necessities, good housing and social services. They deny us basic land rights,” he said, a day after the nation voted down the Voice to Parliament referendum.