Organisers of a pro-Palestine rally planned for the first anniversary of the deadly Hamas October 7 Israel attacks have withdrawn their application for a permit.
In an 11th hour twist on Thursday afternoon, the NSW Supreme Court was told the protesters were no longer seeking to march on Monday, October 7.
However they were still seeking to protest on Saturday, with the court told they had amended their intended protest path to now start at Hyde Park instead of Town Hall.
“The application for the Monday (protest) has been withdrawn,” Lachlan Gyles, SC, the barrister acting for the NSW Commission of Police told the court.
“There is no approval for any public assembly on the Monday. That’s not before the court.”
NSW Police said officers were “not satisfied that the protest can proceed safely” following negotiations with organisers who had applied for a protest permit.
Commissioner Karen Webb applied to the NSW Supreme Court to prohibit the two assemblies and have them declared unauthorised, where a hearing is underway on Thursday afternoon..
A few dozen protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court in Sydney, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags under the watchful eye of a small number of police.
Marchers chanted “this is not a police state” and “we are all Palestinians”, as young children beat drums and with placards staring “justice B4 Zionist lobby”.
“We are not going to stop now as Israel is out of control waging this war of terror… We will not let them get away with this now,” one speaker told the crowed.
Protesters have held a small rally outside the court where NSW Police are trying to stop Pro-Palestine rallies on the weekend.
Marchers vowed not to have their protest curtailed by the potential court order, chanting that “Chris Minns we will march. Chris Minns we will win”.
Protests have been scheduled to go ahead in Sydney’s CBD on October 6 and October 7, with about 70,000 people expected to attend.
The two protests are being held to mark one year since Hamas fighters killed more than 1200 people in Israel which sparked the invasion of Gaza and later Lebanon.
NSW Police say officers “are not satisfied that the protest can proceed safely” following negotiations with organisers who had applied for a protest permit.NSW Police has applied to the NSW Supreme Court to prohibit the two assemblies and have them declared unauthorised.
The hearing is being held on Thursday afternoon.
The Prime Minister and other political leaders have called for the rallies not to be held on the first anniversary of the attack which left 1200 dead, in the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.
The attack in Gaza has led to a year-long conflict in Gaza and recently extended in Lebanon, including the killing of the leader of the terrorist group Hezbollah and the
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