Victorian Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office besieged by hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters chanting ‘shame’ and ‘get out’
Hundreds have taken to the streets north of Melbourne’s CBD to demand the Australian government call for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It is reported that around 300 people gathered at the Bell St Reserve in Coburg, 8km north of the CBD, from 11am on Saturday to demand the Labor Party’s call for an immediate ceasefire and lifting the siege of Gaza.
After an hour of impassioned speeches, the crowd walked through the streets to federal Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office on Sydney Rd.
Hundreds of Palestinian supporters gathered outside Labor MP Peter Khalil’s electorate office in Melbourne on Saturday morning (pictured)
“Peter Khalil, you can’t hide” and “Shame, shame, Peter, shame,” the crowd chanted in unison in response to an organizer with a megaphone standing outside his office door.
Police stood guard outside the glass doors at the entrance to Mr. Khalil’s office.
In Coburg, community pressure is mounting on the local MP to represent his constituents’ call for a ceasefire in parliament.
On Wednesday, plastic bags resembling body bags were left outside Khalil’s office, next to signs calling for “No more bodies in Gaza” and “an end to the occupation.”
It comes after Merri-Bek council voted last week to fly the Palestinian flag over Coburg Town Hall to condemn Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians.
Up to 300 people reportedly gathered at the Bell St Reserve in Coburg, 8km north of the CBD, from 11am on Saturday to demand the Labor Party’s call for an immediate ceasefire (pictured)
“Peter Khalil, you can’t hide” and “Shame, shame, Peter, shame,” the crowd chanted in unison in response to an organizer with a megaphone standing outside the door of the Labor MP’s office.
The federal government has stopped short of calling for a ceasefire, instead asking Israel to grant a “humanitarian pause” for citizens to seek health care and receive essential relief supplies.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has recommended that Israel take steps towards a ceasefire, but made clear that this cannot be unilateral and must include the release of more than 200 Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas.
More than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the last conflict, according to the latest data from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
It has been at least a week since new casualty data was released as communications in Gaza have been cut.
The Israeli death toll stands at 1,200, largely as a result of the October 7 Hamas attack.