Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police at one of Australia’s largest ports overnight, with as many as 23 people arrested as they tried to block an Israeli ship.
The group, protesting the unloading of a ship owned by Zim, an Israeli shipping company, gathered in Port Botany, 12 kilometers south of Sydney’s CBD, on Tuesday evening.
The protest started peacefully but quickly escalated after police blocked demonstrators from marching along one of the roads in the port.
The group then decided to stage a sit-in with officers, some on horseback, in an attempt to move them on about 8:45 p.m.
As tensions reached a boiling point, police began making arrests at the “unauthorized gathering,” arresting as many as 23 protesters.
“When a peaceful sit-in to block a Zim ship boat turned violent as NSW Police started throwing down and arresting protesters, locking us in with horses and forcing us against a fence,” one woman captioned footage of the protest on TikTok.
A NSW Police spokesperson told Ny Breaking Australia: ‘A police operation has now been completed on Foreshore Road, Port Botany, following an unauthorized gathering.
“Police arrested 23 people and they were taken to various police stations where they assisted police in their investigations.”
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police at one of Australia’s largest ports overnight, with up to 23 people arrested (Photo: Protesters clash with officers)
The group, protesting against an Israeli shipping company, gathered in Port Botany, 12km south of Sydney’s CBD, on Tuesday evening (pictured).
Police said about 400 people gathered at the boat ramp on Foreshore Road before the group headed to the intersection of Sirius and Foreshore Roads.
‘Officers issued a group notice, which was not complied with. The group continued to occupy Foreshore Road and blocked the movement of vehicles,” the statement said.
‘After a number of people continued to refuse police directions, 23 people were arrested before all people left the roadway around 9pm.’
The 23 people arrested were later charged with disobeying directions and damaging or disrupting a major facility.
The group held a similar protest against the same Israeli shipping company in Port Botany and Melbourne earlier this month.
Last Saturday, protesters in boats and jet skis confronted the 13,000-ton cargo ship Contship Dax as it approached the container terminal for docking and unloading.
Some activists claimed the ship would be carrying weapons to be shipped to the Middle East for Israeli forces to use against Hamas in Gaza.
But Israel-based operator Zim Integrated Shipping has denied the claims, saying the ship was simply on regular flights between Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
“The ships carry a variety of Asian consumer products such as white goods, textiles and food,” a spokesperson told Ny Breaking Australia.
“The ship is not carrying any weapons loads.”
Rumors of arms smuggling spread after Greens leader David Shoebridge told the Senate that Australia had dozens of secret arms export deals with Israel.
‘Tomorrow there will be a blockade at Botany to prevent weapons of mass destruction [weapons of mass destruction] destined for Palestine,” one user posted on social media.
The shipping company targeted in Saturday’s jet ski blockade in Sydney’s Port Botany has denied claims they were weapons Israel could use in Gaza.
Drill rap star and alleged Alameddine drug gang associate Ali ‘Ay Huncho’ Younes posted footage of the blockade on TikTok, where followers repeated the claim about fake weapons.
On Wednesday, several officers were seen monitoring the situation at the port.
The latest demonstration follows weeks of similar protests across Australia as pro-Palestinian supporters call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Ny Breaking Australia has contacted NSW Police in relation to the incident.
Several social media posts promoted the Port Botany jet ski protest and claimed Zim was an “Israeli arms transporter.” It was not