Group's warning over pro-Palestine rally

Daily Telegraph

a day ago

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A pro-Palestinian group has said it is willing to work with police over its concerns to public safety relating to a massive rally planned for Brisbane's iconic Story Bridge.
Justice for Palestine announced on social media last week that it will take part in a 'nationwide march' on Sunday August 24 to protest against the 22-month long war in Gaza.
Israel continues to face rising condemnation over its actions in the deadly conflict, including the deaths of five Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in a targeted strike this week.
The rally is set to begin from 1pm, with demonstrators to start from Raymond Park, walking over the Story Bridge and ending at Centenary Place, which is about two kilometres.
'We are taking this protest to the Story Bridge to reflect the urgency of the situation in Gaza. This is the same bridge our Lord Mayor refused to light in the colours of the Palestinian flag, denying solidarity to a grieving community,' Justice for Palestine wrote in an online post.
'This protest is a reminder that we might be the ones spared the bombs, but we are not spared the responsibility.'
A pro-Palestine group is planning to march across Brisbane's Story Bridge as part of a nationwide rally on August 24. Picture Lachie Millard/News Corp
Speaking to news.com.au, one of the group's organisers Omar Ashour said the event is about 'making space for a large number of Australians to express their feelings of solidarity' and to put pressure on the Albanese government to end the 'genocide' and starvation in Gaza.
But Queensland Police has flagged safety concerns about the rally where the organisers expect at least 7,000 people to attend.
A police spokeswoman said the 'initial proposed assembly route' has not been authorised as it could cause 'significant disruption to the rights and freedoms of other members of the community'.
'However, the Service is committed to working with organisers to identify an alternatw route that minimises the risk to public safety and disruption to the community,' she told news.com.au.
'The QPS respects the right to peacefully assemble; however, this must be balanced with the need to ensure public safety and minimise disruption to the broader community.'
Senior police have initiated the mediation process with the pro-Palestine group.
Mr Ashour said the group had received a response from police but he claimed it failed to detail the risks involved with the march.
He insisted organisers had 'made it very clear' they are willing to work with authorities and try to understand any of their safety concerns to ensure the August 24 event goes ahead.
Asked if Justice for Palestine would consider changing the location of the march, Mr Ashour said the plan was to always walk across Story Bridge.
'We don't understand what kind of safety risks they are worried about... we will be reasonable, but this is where people expect to cross. It has significance in Brisbane and the people who will be protesting are from Brisbane,' he told news.com.au.
He flagged the landmark in the CBD has been previously closed for other events and protests.
'We will listen to the police concerns when they share it with us. And we will try to accommodate any reasonable requests for safety... at the moment we don't see any merit with the limited information provided by police,' Mr Ashour added.
The group is still waiting for the event to be given the go-ahead by police, but if its denied Mr Ashour insisted to the Courier Mail that they will appeal the decision in court.
Tens of thousands of people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this month. Picture: Saeed KHAN / AFP
It is understood other marches will happen simultaneously in most major capital cities around the country, as well as in towns.
It comes after this month's huge rally over the Sydney Harbour Bridge which saw what organisers say 300,000 people march to send a 'powerful message' about the Gaza conflict.
New South Wales Police had made an application in the Supreme Court to stop the demonstration, flagging fears of 'significant risk' to public safety for the August 3 event.
Justice Beling Rigg gave the green light to march hours before it started saying the concerns of police were 'well founded' but Palestine Action Group had given 'compelling' reasons as to why it had to go ahead, citing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Well-known figures such as Julian Assange, former foreign minister Bob Carr and Labor MP Ed Husic walked side-by-side with every day people as they urged for immediate action.
The shutting down of the world-famous Sydney landmark to allow tens of thousands of people to march across it made global headlines.
Authorities had major concerns about the Sydney rally, which ultimately had to be abruptly cancelled due to crowd crush fears. Picture: NewsWire / Brendan Read
Police monitor the march on live traffic cameras. Picture: NSW Police
Stunning photos showed the Harbour Bridge filled with crowds as they held up signs that read 'free Palestine', 'ceasefire now' and 'not a war this is genocide'.
However, there were some concerning images among the group including one rally-goer who wore a hooded jumper that read 'death to the IDF' and the jihadist flag, commonly used by terror groups, being waved in the air near families.
The event was brought to an abrupt end two hours in after police sent out a geo text saying: 'In consultation with organisers, the march needs to stop due to public safety and await further instructions.'
Tens of thousands of protesters were turned around at the northern end of the bridge.
Acting Deputy Police Commissioner, Peter McKenna, later said it had to be cancelled due to fears of a crowd crush as authorities estimated 90,000 people had taken part.
'We could not allow those numbers to then egress into the northern side, into those train stations without, again, that real risk of crowd crush,' he told reporters.
Albanese's big move
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said Australia will move to recognise the state of Palestine as it is the only way to 'break the cycle of violence' in the Middle East and end the conflict, which has seen the total death toll from both sides soar past 60,000.
On Tuesday morning he took another swipe at his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it is 'completely unacceptable' aid trucks had been stopped from entering the devastated enclave, leading to a rise in loss of life from hunger.
'I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He, again, reiterated to me what he has said publicly as well – which is to be in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people,' the Labor leader told the ABC.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly criticsed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu over the Gaza conflict. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Asked whether the government would slap sanctions on Israel or any of its officials or politicans if it refused to listen, Mr Albanese said that was unlikely.
'We're not going to stop diplomatic relations. That's completely counter-productive. We have diplomatic relations with a range of countries around the world that we have disagreements with,' he said.
'But you engage and we'll continue to do that. We need to look for real solutions with the international community and that's precisely what Australia is doing.'
Australia will recognise a Palestinian State at the United Nations General Assembly in September, following its allies in the UK, Canada and France.
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Originally published as Group begins negotiations with police over march across Brisbane's Story Bridge