Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested for blocking Melbourne street, tampering with traffic lights
More than a dozen people have been arrested in an Australian capital city as part of a global day of protests designed to hurt the economy.
More than a dozen protesters have been arrested in Melbourne as part of global pro-Palestine protests.
The co-ordinated were designed by A15 Action to target areas in cities that would cause the most economic disruption.
The group’s website says protests will take place in 51 cities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, South Africa and Australia.
“There is a need to shift from symbolic actions to those that cause pain to the economy,” the group says.
Victoria Police arrested 14 people on Monday; 12 for blocking the road on Lorimer St in Port Melbourne about 8.30am, two more people for tampering with traffic lights at the intersection of Victoria and Nicholson streets in Carlton about 8am.
A woman also received two penalty notices for using an unsafe motor vehicle, the police said.
About 200 protesters marched through the city, a police spokeswoman said.
A15 cites Western support for Israel and the humanitarian issues in Gaza as the catalyst for the protests.
Last week, New York-based Human Rights Watch reported children in Gaza were dying from starvation-related complications.
“The Israeli government’s use of starvation as a weapon of war has proven deadly for children in Gaza,” Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir said.
In a prerecorded update on April 14, Israel Defence Forces Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas since the October 7 attack were an ever-looming factor.
“We do not forget for a moment our 133 abductees and abductees who are still being held in Gaza,” the Brigadier General said, according to an IDF translation.
“The return of the abducted is our deep duty. We will not miss any opportunity to return them home – this is our responsibility.”
Zionist Federation of Australia chief executive Alon Cassuto believed Monday’s protesters would not be looked on favourably.
“Australians don’t appreciate having their daily lives disrupted by radical protesters, especially when it adds more pressure to the rising cost of living,” Mr Cassuto said.
The protesters wanted chaos, not a peaceful protest, he said.
The A15 group provided anonymous statements from Australian demonstration participants.
A purported Adelaide protester said they would be involved to send a message to the Foreign Minister.
“With nearly 50,000 Gazans killed over the past six months and mass starvation … we send a message to Penny Wong and the Australian government that we do not accept this,” the protester said.
Tasmanian and Victorian protesters said they would disrupt manufacturing facilities that make parts for weapons.
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