The 50th week of continuous protests against Israelās genocide came days after Israelās terrorist attacks on the people of Lebanon, by means of exploding devices such as pagers and walkie-talkies.
At least 25 people were killed and more than 600 wounded in Lebanon on September 18, when electronic devices āexploded without warningā, to Democracy Now on September 19. Some of the blasts happened at the funerals of some of the 12 people . Thousands more people were left with āgruesome injuriesā.
āThis has been widely reported in the Western press as a sophisticated campaign that targeted alleged [Lebanese resistance group] Hezbollah operatives,ā journalist Lara Bitar Democracy Now. āBut the reality is that, for the most part, these explosions were occurring in civilian areas.ā
Israelās attacks on Hezbollah are because it is supporting the people of Gaza against Israelās genocide. Israeli spokespeopleĀ that the attacks on Lebanon are a ānew phaseā of the same war.
By September 23, Israel had launched across southern and eastern Lebanon, killing more than 100 people and wounding more than 400.
Bitar said that āthe Israeli government has already taken a decision to escalate, to wage full-scale war on all of Lebanonā.
marchinginmall20-9-24byalexbainbridge-web.jpg
Justice for Palestine organiser Phil Monsour opened the September 20 protest rally in Magan-djin/Brisbane saying, āI struggle with the idea that someone could say āpush that switch now, let's blow 3000 people upāā.
Monsour described the pager explosions as āstate terrorā, adding, āwe march as human beings who will not accept state terror, will not accept occupation, will not accept apartheidā.
Nasser Mashni, from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), said āwe are at week 50 and we are still going, unbroken and unconquered like the heroes in Palestineā.
āThe fight for Palestine is an anti-racist, anti-colonial movement; itās a fight for a world of tomorrow where we all ²ś±š±ō“Ē²Ō²µ.ā
nassermashni20-9-24byalexbainbridge-web.jpg
Mashni condemned the āterrorist state of Israelā, which has āimpunity to kill, to crush, to booby trapā. He said that when Israel āset those pagers offā, they could not and did not know āif somebody was picking up their kids from schoolā or āif a kid would pick up a beeper from a table and look at it and die, as did two children in Lebanonā.
The rally also came two days after the Australian government Ā on a United Nations vote against Israelās illegal occupation of Palestine.
Remah Naji, Justice for Palestine organiser and Greensā candidate for Moreton, told the rally that āLabor apologistsā will claim that this was the right decision, but these are āweasel wordsā. āThe Labor Party does not have a moral backbone ... They sold us, and threw us under the bus.ā
A few days before, the Gaza Ministry of Health of 34,344 people killed by Israelās genocidal assault on Gaza, as at August 31. A further 7613 people, who have not been identified, have been declared dead on arrival at Gazan hospitals.
The first of names ā 710 babies ā were listed as age 0, meaning they were killed before they reached their first birthday.
Naji and Mashni also spoke at a forum on on September 21.
stopgenocide22-9-24byjacobandrewartha.jpeg
Thousands of people joined the weekly protest in Naarm/Melbourne on September 22, marching from the State Library to ParliamentĀ House.
Jacob Andrewartha reports thatĀ Meriki Onus from Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance spoke, making the comparison between the settler-colonial history of Australia and the struggle for a free Palestine.
Onus added that a victory for Palestine would lay the basis for the āfreedom of all First Nations and oppressed people from settler-colonial states all around the worldā.
naarmrally22-9-24byjacobandrewartha.jpeg
Palestinian activistĀ Iman HassayenĀ reflected on the protests against Land Forces, condemning weaponsā manufacturers that profit from the āgenocide of Palestiniansā. āOur demands are clear, Israel must be sanctioned and an arms embargo must be imposed.ā
Thousands through the centre of Gadigal Country/Sydney on September 22 to protest Israelās terrorism and genocide in Lebanon and Palestine.
Peter Boyle reported that the march was organised by the Palestine Action Group Sydney. Powerful street theatre has been part of the large protests against Israelās war crimes in all major cities in Australia, but the corporate media is not covering them.
evenmoremarching22-9-24bypeterboyle.jpg
This silence shows their criminal complicity in the Gaza genocide.
castlemaine22-9-24bycraiggaston.jpeg
Chloe DS reports that a rally for Palestine was organised inĀ Dja Dja Wurrung Country/Castlemaine on September 22.
Arlo, high school student and Disrupt Land Forces (DLF) protester, recounted the anti-weapons protest held the previous week in Naarm/Melbourne. He spoke about militarism having deep ties to colonial oppression, including the oppression of First Nations.
āMilitarism and colonialism is killing people,ā Arlo said. He criticised theĀ biased media coverage that depicted protesters as āviolentā, when armed police were the violent ones. āI was happy to be part of this festival of resistance.ā
medicaltheatre22-9-24bypeterboyle.jpg
Jen, who chaired the rally, pointed to Laborās inaction and hypocrisy.Ā āI'm tired of your words Penny and Albo. You have the power to sanction Israel and you do nothing.āĀ She said rallies give āhopeā that people power can collectively āmake changeā.
Rowan, also part of organising DLF, spoke about how āwe need to build the narrative that militarism should not be pushed in our societyā. He encouraged people to protest against the Avalon airshow next year, saying āitās like Land Forces, but this time itās air forcesā.
He said many people from the local area were proud to help the DLF events, such as the Anti-Military Motorcade, the vigil for Gaza and the Red Rebels die-in.
Meera, who was also part of DLF, spoke about the truth-telling circle at Camp Sovereignty. She reported on a Vigil for Gaza where volunteers had folded and displayed over 16,000 paper kites ā one for every child martyred in Gaza.
In Unanderra/Wollongong, a 100-strong protest against Bisalloy Steel was organised by Wollongong Friends of Palestine on September 19. Bisalloy Steel produces steel products, including those used in Israeli tanks.
womanwithmegaphone22-9-24byjordanellis.jpg
The in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide on September 22 highlighted Israelās daily war crimes and atrocities. Jordan Ellis reported that āthis last week, footage emerged of Israeli soldiers pushing dead bodies off a rooftop in the occupied West Bankā.
Other actions in Kaurna YertaĀ included a on September 22 and a on September 15.
boycottcaltex15-9-24byjordanellis.jpg
Socialist Alliance national co-convenor, Sam Wainwright, the Australian government on September 23 for refusing to vote for Palestineās motion at the United Nations.
decapitatedbabies22-9-24bypeterboyle.jpg
stopthegenocideleadbanner22-9-24bypeterboyle.jpg
handsup22-9-24bypeterboyle.jpg
childwavingflag22-9-24byjordanellis.jpg
jonathanstrauss20-9-24byalexbainbridge-web.jpg
endisraelsgenocide20-9-24byalexbainbridge-web.jpg
