Tens of thousands of people have marched through Australia’s major cities and towns, organisers said, demanding action to save dying and starving Palestinians.
More than 40 protests took place across Australia on Sunday, the group Palestine Action said, including large turnouts in state capitals Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
“We demand from our politicians more than just talk. We are long past this,” Remah Naji, one of the organisers of the protest in the eastern city of Brisbane, told Al Jazeera.
“Now, we demand actions in the same way we acted in times of genocide. We are signatories to the Genocide Convention, which means that we have an obligation to prevent and punish genocide when it occurs.”
Protests denouncing Israel’s war and starvation campaign were also held in several other countries on Sunday.
In Australia, where people rallied in cities of all sizes nationwide, protesters urged sanctions against Israel and an end to arms trade with the country, which has been accused of carrying out a genocide by leading rights groups.
Organisers estimate more than 300,000 people participated in the demonstrations.
In Sydney, organiser Josh Lees said Australians were out in force to “demand an end to this genocide in Gaza and to demand that our government sanction Israel” as rallygoers, many with Palestinian flags, chanted “free, free Palestine”.
In Melbourne, protesters congregated outside the State Library Victoria, chanting “sanction Israel now”.
Organiser Nour Salman said Australia’s plans to recognise Palestinian statehood must be accompanied by tougher sanctions on Israel.
“Enough is enough. There is no ifs, buts or maybes,” Salman said.
Thousands also gathered in the southwestern city of Perth.
“Our government cannot claim to support human rights while continuing to arm an apartheid regime,” Friends of Palestine Western Australia organiser Nick Everett was quoted as saying by WAToday newspaper.
“Trade unions, civil society, and communities across the country are united in calling for action. Palestine can’t wait.”
‘Enough is enough’
The protests came after the world’s leading authority on food crises – the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – declared fam