Crowds gather at Lakemba Mosque as police swarm Sydney’s city centre

Crowds have gathered at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney for a Stand with Palestine rally as police were seen swarming the city centre.

Police have swarmed Sydney’s city centre ahead of a pro-Palestine vigil to mark the anniversary of the October 7 attacks.

Exactly one year ago Hamas terrorists from Gaza invaded and slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped another 240.

The horrific onslaught sparked a terrifying year of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Officers were clearly bracing for trouble as they stood stony-faced on the steps of Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday evening.

Protests are also expected in Melbourne and Adelaide tonight with a vigil outside Parliament House in Canberra.

Follow our updates for live coverage.

Sheikh shares message to Albo

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi appeared to justify Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in a speech at Lakemba Mosque.

“You stole their land,” he said.

“You killed its people.

“You raped its women.

“And you imprison hundreds of thousands of its people.

“The 7th of October, what it is… is an act of resistance.

Sheikh Charkawi also shared a message to the Australian prime minister.

“We recently heard about this thing called ‘social cohesion’, and we’ve heard about social cohesion from the Australian Prime Minister,” Sheikh Charkawi said.

“Social cohesion to Muslims is a dirty word.”

Speaker says ‘victory’ is coming soon

Speaking at Lakemba Mosque Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoud said that “victory” was coming soon.

“Brother and sisters, today is not a day of mourning. Today is not a day when we think of our brothers and sisters who have left us,” he said.

“This is one year of activism, this has been one year of hope, this has been one year of change. There are losses on many fronts and the victory is coming soon.

“I ask of you to continue all the actions that you have started one year ago. And do not stop until we see the crumbling of Zionism, until we see the end of the occupying Israeli forces.”

Crowds gather at Lakemba Mosque

A large crowd has been gathering outside Lakemba Mosque in Sydney since 5.30pm for a Stand For Palestine rally.

People gather for the United Community Rally for Palestine and Lebanon being held at the Lakemba Mosque. Picture: Jonathan Ng

People gathered from around 5.30pm. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Many people held Palestinian flags. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The crowd has so far been peaceful with chants of “to the river to the sea, Israel kills refugees” and “October 7 is not the beginning”.

An organiser has reminded attendees that they have worked closely with police to make the event happen.

“There are legal requirements around the sorts of flags and so forth that you can carry,” he said.

“Just some quick housekeeping notes before we make a start. Today’s is a static rally. Is a static protest, static demonstration. There is not a dynamic march.”

Bill Shorten has called on the Victorian government to reconsider its stance on a protest permit system, urging Premier Jacinta Allan to follow NSW’s lead.

Hezbollah praises protest in Australia

A media organisation owned by Hezbollah praised protesters who marched through Sydney on Sunday.

Al-Ahed News posted photos from the Palestine Action Group protest to Telegram with the message “from Australia to the world: stop the ‘Israeli’ Aggression on Lebanon”.

Heavy police presence in Sydney

The is a heavy police presence in Sydney as crowds gathered for a pro-Palestine vigil.

Supporters of Lebanon and Palestine will gather following a march on Sunday attended by tens of thousands of people.

The group will be banned from marching tonight with only a 6pm vigil authorised.

Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees said the planned event was peaceful.

“The kind of intense hostility that we’ve received for doing that, for organising that event, speaks volumes, I think, about the racist country we live in and the total disregard for Palestinian lives,” he said.

Police keep watch outside the Sydney Town Hall prior to a candlelight vigil by Pro-Palestinian Supporters on the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Sydney on October 7, 2024. (Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP)

Mounted police keep watch. (Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP)

There are expected to be protests around the world today. (Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP)

Albo, Dutton speak on October 7 anniversary

In a video statement, Anthony Albanese vowed to Jewish Australians to never let history repeat itself, calling the anniversary “a day that carries terrible pain”.

“On the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, we pause to reflect on the horrific terrorist atrocity that reverberated around the globe,” Mr Albanese said.

“We unequivocally condemn Hamas’ actions on that day.”

He acknowledged that that anti-Semitism had spiked in Australia over the past year.

“Since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have felt the cold shadows of anti-Semitism reaching into the present day and as a nation, we say, never again,” Mr Albanese said.

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton struck a more pointed tone, saying the day marked a “day of depravity”, and that the attacks “awoke and exposed an anti-Semitic rot afflicting Western democracies”.

He pledged to “support Australians of Jewish faith” and said “enemies of Israel and the peddlers of Jewish hate will never win.”

Shorten calls for protest permits

Bill Shorten has called on the Victorian government to reconsider its stance on a protest permit system, urging Premier Jacinta Allan to follow NSW’s lead.

Allan has insisted police have adequate tools and resources to maintain public safety, but the Maribyrnong MP and former Opposition leader believes the state government should still consider broadening its options.

Speaking on Sunrise, Shorten said it was possible to permit system to manage protests without restricting the right to demonstrate.

“It is working well in NSW, and perhaps it is time for Victoria to consider a permit system,” he said.

“It doesn’t stop people protesting, but the purpose of it is looked at, the circumstances, how it’s done is taken before a Supreme Court.”

“I don’t necessarily think it should apply to industrial relations, but for some of these protests we’ve seen week in, week out, I do think that having a permit system would at least straighten it up.”

Earlier this year, Victoria Police also requested a permit system in response to the growing number of violent protests, which have caused significant disruption to both the public and police resources.

That proposal was rejected by Allan.

Despite concerns over escalating protest violence, the Australian Human Rights Law Centre has long opposed the idea, warning it could clash with the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly under Victoria’s human rights charter.

Originally published as Crowds gather at Lakemba Mosque as police swarm Sydney’s city centre