Carols by Candlelight protester may have had help on inside

A probe into the anti-Israel Carols by Candlelight debacle in Melbourne will consider whether any help was provided to the activists.

Pro-Palestine protesters are taken away by security after interrupting the Carols by Candlelight concert in Melbourne on Christmas Eve. Picture: AAP

The review into the Carols by Candlelight raid by pro-Palestinian activists in Melbourne is set to examine whether any inside assistance was provided to protesters on the night.

Arts Centre Melbourne, police and the main sponsors have begun talks to determine what went wrong with the security on the night of the raid and how the activists were able to turn the event into a national embarrassment.

ACM said the matter had been referred to police and the main stakeholders in the event would fully examine how the activists were able to orchestrate the ­hijacking of the stage.

Insiders have privately lamented that apparently strict control of the event for participants had not been matched by the same rigour afforded to the protesters.

A Brunswick woman, 21, was arrested without charge and police ejected a second person following the Christmas Eve demonstration.

The main antagonist, who displayed the Palestinian flag on stage, was backed by anti-Israel groups as part of a nationwide protest over the war in Gaza, which was started by the Gaza-based ­terrorist group Hamas.

Broadcast hosts at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl were silenced by chants of ‘Free Palestine’ and the woman grabbed the microphone and declared: “While you’re carolling kids are dying in Gaza.” The woman has been linked to the group Block the Dock, which is trying to disrupt ­Israeli shipping lines.

The anti-Israel protests are being backed by a series of groups which often have diverse interests including climate change, indigenous land rights and other left-wing causes.

An ACM spokesman said the debriefing process was still under way and declined to comment on whether the protesters were helped inside the concert.

“Everyone has the right to protest peacefully, but not at the expense of the safety of others,’’ the ACM said in a statement.

“The matter has been reported to and is being managed by Victoria Police and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Police referred comment requests to the event organisers.

It comes after the nation’s biggest shopping centre was targeted by pro-Palestine activists on Boxing Day, staging a leaflet drop on one of the busiest days in the retail calendar. Some wore keffiyehs or masks that hid or partially concealed their faces at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre.

More pro-Palestinian marches will be held in Melbourne, which boasts the largest Jewish community in Australia.

Jewish leaders have warned that New Year’s Eve and Australia Day ­celebrations would be overrun by pro-Palestine activists, after the protesters who hijacked a the carols show while children were on stage faced no court charges.

Police arrested the 21-year-old woman who rushed the stage over the alleged concealment of a “controlled weapon”. She was handed a minor infringement notice over the weapon. Police have not detailed what the weapon was.

The incident unfolded in front of tens of thousands of people at the family-friendly event and many more watching the broadcast live from home.

The woman holding the Palestinian flag ran around the stage before attempting to wrestle a microphone off hosts David Campbell and Sarah Abo, who appeared bemused rather than upset by the confrontation.

Security staff on the stage moved quickly to resolve the situation but the review of the events is expected to include questions over how the protesters were not detected before the confrontation occurred. It has posed questions about why the intruders were allowed inside the perimeter.

Block the Dock said in a statement: “The activists are highlighting the genocide in Gaza as the Christian Palestinian community are unable to attend their places of worship this Christmas.”