Pro-Palestinian activists have tried to block Israeli shipping company ZIM from entering Sydney’s Port Botany by taking to the water to deter the boat.
The rally, which started at noon on Saturday, was organized by the Palestine Justice Movement Sydney (PJMS) and led to the gathering of a large crowd at the Foreshore Boat Ramp.
Dozens of people gathered at the Foreshore Boat Ramp – some even taking to the water in an attempt to deter the ship – calling for a boycott of the “main arms carrier.”
“The ZIM shipping company is an important arms transporter,” PJMS writes on social media.
“It is not welcome in Port Botany, or anywhere else where people are opposing genocide and war crimes.”
A large crowd gathered in Port Botany to protest the Israeli-owned ship. Photo: NCA NewsWire/Dylan Robinson.
Protesters gathered on land and also on jet skis next to the huge container ship, and were heard chanting: “Resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied.”
The rally went ahead on Saturday despite calls from NSW Premier Chris Minns against any attempt to ‘block the boat’.
“I just want to make it clear that living in a free country does not mean you can walk to the port and stop legal trade between Australia and its trading partners around the world,” Minns told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Tuesday. .
Protesters gathered at the waterfront and also converged on jet skis. Photo: NCA NewsWire/Dylan Robinson.
“I haven’t seen these people in port when it comes to trading with Cuba or Saudi Arabia or China or any other country where there might be disagreements or civil unrest, so they shouldn’t be doing that when it comes down to it. also to Israel.’
This comes after the Israeli assault on Gaza pushed the Palestinian death toll above 10,000 since October 7.
The White House claimed on Thursday that Israel would allow “limited pauses” in its military operations “for humanitarian reasons.”
Protesters were heard chanting: ‘Resistance is justified if Palestine is occupied’
The rally went ahead on Saturday despite calls from NSW Premier Chris Minns against any attempt to block the boat
The death toll includes more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres describing the war zone as a ‘graveyard for children’.
Violence broke out in Melbourne’s south-east on Friday evening when pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed following a suspicious fire at a Palestinian-owned hamburger shop.
Police used pepper spray to break up the scuffle on Hawthorn Rd in Caulfield.