As Israelās genocide against Palestinians in Gaza continues, protesters from across the country converged in Canberra, before the new parliament opened, to demand Labor sanction Israel.
The Israel-United States āaidā agency continues to assassinate children and others trying to secure flour for their families, while Western leaders look away.
According to , 90% of the population of Gaza has been forcibly displaced, multiple times, and 86% of the strip is under Israeli forced evacuation orders or designated military zones.
Israel dropped thousands of flyers over Deir el-Balah on July 20 telling Palestinians in central Gaza to move south to an area the military has attacked despite it being a āsafe zoneā.
said the area is densely populated and affected residents would not be able to leave on short notice.
āPalestinians here are refusing to leave and say they are going to stay in their houses because even the areas designated as safe by the Israeli army have been targeted. Palestinians say they have nowhere else to go, and there is no space because most western areas or even al-Mawasi are full of people and tents with no more extra space for expansion. They are left with zero options.ā
Meanwhile, the US has sanctioned lawyer Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, for her push to stop Israelās genocide.
At a gathering in Bogota, Colombia, 12 countries out of 30 supported a motion that set measures to implement a UN General Assembly motion mandating member states to push Israel to end its unlawful occupation of Palestine.
The steps include stopping sending weapons to Israel, placing bans on ships transporting such arms and reviewing public contracts for any links to companies benefitting from Israelās illegal occupation. exports to Israel in response to Israelās genocide.
The measures included supporting āuniversal jurisdiction mandatesā, which allow states or international bodies to prosecute serious international crimes, regardless of where they took place.
The Hague Group motion voted for a September deadline to implement a July 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion that Israelās occupation of the is unlawful. The Hague Group is confident that more countries will sign on by September 20.
Colombian PresidentĀ , who co-hosted the gathering with South Africa, said the meeting showed that the world is finally moving from condemnation of Israelās war to collective action to bring it to an end.
āFar too many states have allowed strategic calculations to override our duty. While we may face threats of retribution when we stand up for international law ā as South Africa discovered when the against its case at the ICJ ā the consequences of abdicating our responsibilities will be dire,ā in theĢż³Ņ³Ü²¹°ł»å¾±²¹²Ō on July 8.
āIf we fail to act now, we not only betray the Palestinian people, we become complicit in the atrocities committed by Netanyahuās government.ā
He added: āThe Palestinian people deserve justice. The moment demands courage. History will judge us harshly if we fail to answer its call.ā
canberra_04_alex.jpg
In their trademark approach, the corporate media completely ignored the first of a three-day national convergence at Parliament House, Canberra, on July 20. Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters travelled from as far as Western Australia to demand that Labor impose sanctions on Israel.
Labor continues to deny it sends weapons or parts to Israel. But Peter Cronau and Kellie Tranter, from , have published leaked documents showing that F-35 parts are being exported.
āDeclassified Australia has sighted shipping records detailing goods sent on two recent flights from Sydney to Tel Aviv in Israel. Itās uncertain whether these documents show just two individual shipments, or are a glimpse of a much bigger Australian direct trade of F-35 parts to Israel,ā .
canberra_03_alex.jpg
More than 110 Palestine solidarity groups endorsed the convergence, many sending delegations. TheĀ rally outside Parliament House on July 20 heard from many, including Palestinian Australian cardiologist Dr Muntaser Musameh; Naarm/Melbourne Palestinian activist Amin Abbas; Janet Parker from Jews for Palestine WA; Shovan Bhattarai from Students for Palestine NSW; Alex Bainbridge from Justice for Palestine Magan-djin; and Amal Nasser from Palestine Action Group Sydney.Ā
āWe know the role that our government and other Western governments have played in actively facilitating this holocaust,ā Parker said. āWe understand that our job is to make demands on our own government, in particular, to sanction Israel, to condemn the action of the Israeli state at every level.ā
āOur protests have been significant. Many have observed that 22 months in, the protests to sanction Israel and free Palestine are probably the most sustained we have seen since the Vietnam War.ā
However, Parker warned, it is because of this that governments have launched āthe most savage attacks on pro-Palestine protestersā.
canberra_06_zeb.jpg
āStraight from [Donald] Trumpās playbook, we have Jillian Segalās report to government that seeks to destroy our solidarity movement in every sphere ... Segalās report insists that every policy, every practice, in all spheres of public life is premised on the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of antisemitism. We all know how this definition has been used. It says to criticise Israel is to hate Jews. It completely ignores the ever more prominent voices of anti-Zionist Jews who say āTo be Jewish is not to be Zionistā.ā Ā
Parker said it is not Jews who feel threatened by the Palestinian solidarity movement, but genocide supporters.Ā āAnti-Zionist Jews are committed to rescuing Jewish identity from fascist sociopaths like Netanyahu, who want to drag us to the gates of hell.ā
canberra_sat_01_alex.jpg
Canberraās weekly Palestine rally was joined by more than 100 people on July 19, including many who were in town for the Palestine Convergence.Ā The Palestine Action Group Canberra-organised rally included a performance from protest singer-songwriter David Rovics and Kamala Emanuel.
brisbane_02_david_a.jpg
Hundreds joined the rally in Magan-djin/Brisbane on July 20, reports David Anthony.
naarm_03_chloe.jpg
The weekly rally in Naarm/Melbourne drew thousands, reports Chloe DS. Musician Candace Alisha told Ā鶹ӳ» she was there to āstand up for people who canāt stand up for themselves. If you canāt fight, I will fight for youā.
naarm_01_chloe.jpg
perth_01_blair_v.jpg
The planned rally in Boorloo/Perth was postponed due to extreme weather, but on July 21, Unionists for Palestine WA, among others, organised a snap action in the CBD, near the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.Ā
pro-palestine_march_wollongong_19.07.2025-2014web.jpg
A speak-out was held in Tharawal/Wollongong on July 21 to demand an end to Australiaās complicity in Israelās genocide in Gaza, reports Indrek Torilo.Ā
geelong_01.jpg
At the regular āpeak hour for peace in Palestineā rally in Djilang/Geelong on July 18, activists held banners and waved Palestinian flags at passing cars, to express their solidarity with Palestinians and their anger at the governmentās support for Israel.
A screening of To Kill a War Machine was held in Gadigal Country/Sydney at the Dendy Cinema, Newtown, on July 17. The film combines footage of protest activities conducted by Palestine Action, the British direct action group, with interviews of members and supporters of the group, whichĀ has recently been proscribed as a terrorist group by the British government.Ā
To Kill a War Machine captures the grassroots tactics and methods used by the group against the arms industry in Britain.
canberra_05_zeb.jpg
