Pro-Palestine protestors on roof of Australia’s Parliament: ‘War crime’ and ‘genocide’ banners hung

Pro-Palestinian protestors climbed the roof of Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, TV footage and pictures on X, formally known as Twitter, showed. 

Footage showed four people dressed in dark clothes on the roof of the building, handing up black banners, including one that reads “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a common chant said by Pro-Palestinian protestors.

The signs posted on the parliament also had the words “war crimes” written in big letters along with “no peace on stolen land” and “genocide since 1788.”

Pro-Palestinian protestors have climbed onto the roof of Parliament, saying “Australia is a country founded on genocide” #auspol pic.twitter.com/EX85lqnQpj

— Finn McHugh (@FinnianMchugh) July 4, 2024

Accoridng to The Australian news outlet, the protest took place on the final sitting of federal parliament before it breaks for five weeks.

The protestors covered their faces and wore keffiyehs. They also accused both the Albanese government and Indigenous Australians of being complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. No arrests have been made yet, according to The Australian report.

One of the protesters gave a speech using a megaphone accusing the Israeli government of war crimes.

“We will not forget, we will not forgive, and we will continue to resist,” the protester said.

A handful of police and security advised people not to walk directly under the protest at the main entrance to the building, while more were seen on the roof attempting to remove the protesters, a Reuters witness said.

The protesters packed up their banners and were led away by waiting police at around 11:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT).

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, many pro-Palestinian protests have taken place in Australia, including on college campuses.

Pro-Palestinian incidents and protests in Australia

Last month,  the US consulate in Sydney was defaced in what local media said appeared to be a pro-Palestinian protest.

Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, around 1,000 pro-Palestinian supporters marched through downtown Sydney to the city’s iconic Opera House, which the government had illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag following an attack by Hamas.

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