Australia: 4 pro-Palestine protesters arrested for scaling roof of parliament

Four pro Palestine protesters were arrested for climbing onto the roof of Australia’s Parliament House on Thursday in a security breach condemned by lawmakers, Reuters has reported. The incident happened on the same day that a ruling party senator quit over the government’s stance on Palestine.

The protesters were on the roof of the building in Canberra for around an hour, unfurling black banners including one which read “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a common slogan of pro Palestine protesters. One of the protesters gave a speech using a megaphone accusing the Israeli government of war crimes, an accusation it rejects. “We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will continue to resist,” said the protester.

Police and security officers advised people not to walk directly under the protest at the main entrance to the building. More police were seen on the roof attempting to remove the protesters, who packed up their banners before being led away by officers at around 11:30 am local time.

The four were arrested and charged with trespass. They have been banned from the grounds of parliament for two years, said a spokesperson for Australian Capital Territory police.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the protests. “Those responsible should feel the full force of the law,” he said. “Peaceful protest has an important place in our society, but this was not a peaceful protest.” Albanese made this claim even though no violence was reported, and nor were there any injuries.

Fatima Payman, a senator in the ruling Labour Party, quit the party on Thursday to sit as an independent after she was suspended for voting for a motion backing Palestinian statehood. “Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party is taking,” she told a news conference.

Australia, which has for months called for a ceasefire in the conflict, does not currently recognise Palestinian statehood, although Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in May that it could do so before a formal peace process between Israel and Palestinian authorities is complete. Payman’s resignation could make it harder for Labour to pass legislation, as the party does not have a majority in the Senate.

The war in Gaza began after resistance group Hamas led a cross-border incursion on 7 October last year. Around 1,200 Israelis were killed, many of them by the Israel Defence Forces, according to local media. Hamas took 250 Israelis back to Gaza as hostages, an unknown number of whom were members of the Israeli army.

Israel’s military offensive has killed nearly 38,000 Palestinians and wounded almost 90,000, most of them children and women. An estimated 10,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel, which has the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.

Both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war, a UN inquiry found last month. It also said that Israel’s actions also constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses.

Since the war began Australia has been the site of several pro Palestine protests, including weekly demonstrations in major cities and a months-long occupation of university campuses.

READ: Jewish Council of Australia backs anti-Israel war students