Police will use special powers to keep a lid on Palestinian car convoys in Sydney

Police will not hesitate to use emergency powers set up after the 2005 Cronulla riots to prevent car and motorbike convoys which cause a “climate of fear’’ in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

Police will not hesitate to use emergency powers set up after the 2005 Cronulla riots to prevent car and motorbike convoys which cause a “climate of fear’’ in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

A spokesperson for NSW Premier Chris Minns said officers are able to invoke Part 6A of the state’s Public Disorder powers if it is deemed there is a threat to public safety. The powers include the ability to cordon off roads and search vehicles and can be invoked during or prior to a protest.

Mr Minns said he would “not allow (people to) use cars to rip the city in two’’.

It comes after Jewish Federal MP Julian Leeser sent a letter to Mr Minns on Friday calling on him to ban the vehicle protests, which have taken place in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, describing them as anti-Semitic and designed to “create a climate of fear”.

Mr Leeser urged Mr Minns to ensure that drivers who participate in such vehicle protests and convoys have their vehicles impounded and their licences cancelled.

Julian Leeser. Picture: Martin Ollman

The special powers, first introduced following the 2005 Cronulla race riots, allow police extraordinary powers to stop and search people, including those in vehicles without reasonable cause and to prevent people from entering or leaving an area.

They also allow police to set up cordons or roadblocks.

People can be forced to disclose their identity, with heavy penalties including imprisonment for failure to do so. The potential use of the powers comes after convoys of cars and motorcycles flying Palestinian flags travelled from Lidcombe in Sydney’s west to Coogee last week.

Following that, a group of teenagers in cars, with Palestinian flags flying out the windows, drove around Bondi.

A rock was thrown at another vehicle, resulting in a smashed mirror and leading to an incident between the driver of that car and the teenagers at a Bondi service station.

Speaking to media on Sunday, Mr Minns ruled out setting up permanent roadblocks but said the government would take extraordinary action to stop convoys from going ahead in sensitive areas.

Cars with Palestinian flags drive through the Eastern Suburbs last week. Picture: Supplied

“If there was a situation where there was a protest designed to run through Sydney synagogues or heavily populated Jewish communities then we would take extraordinary action to stop them from going ahead,” he said.

“I’m not going to allow a situation where some people attempt to divide our community or intimidate … or use cars to rip the city in two.”

He added that the same rule would apply if Israeli supporters planned a convoy down the main street of Lakemba.

A government spokesperson said the emergency powers allowed it “to cancel, divert or truncate” the convoys, should they be deemed a threat to public safety.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief executive Alex Ryvchin welcomed the potential use of emergency powers to crack down on the convoys, saying they were “a misuse of a motor vehicle for violent ends.’’

“They cannot be classified as a form of protest, they are intended only to antagonise the Jewish community, make Australians feel vulnerable in their own homes and neighbourhoods,” he said.

Australian Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni described the potential use of the powers as “overreach’’.