Hundreds of people gathered on the lawns of Parliament House on Sunday calling for the Morrison government to take decisive action against Israel following 11 days of bloodshed.
Protesters carried signs calling for an end to “ethnic cleansing” while crying out for a “fair go for Palestine” and urging support for a two-state solution to the war and and end to Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s “unacceptable bias”.
Mariam E travelled to the nation’s capital from Sydney to join the cries for the Australian government to act against Israel and recognise Palestine as a sovereign nation.
The young Palestinian said after “70 years of the same situation” their voices were finally being heard.
“The diversity is so hopeful, it’s no longer just fellow Arabs and Muslims,” she said.
“The power of social media means our voices are finally being heard.”
A ceasefire is holding in Gaza after Israel and Hamas agreed to pause 11 days of bloodshed that’s so far killed about 250 Palestinians, including 66 children, and 12 Israeli civilians and a soldier.
Hundreds have also been wounded on both sides after after Israeli forces tried to forcibly evict Palestinians from their homes in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah and stormed the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The violence has prompted protesters to take to the streets across Australia’s capital cities.
Up to 15,000 people are believed to have attended rallies in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday.
Read the article by Kathryn Lewis in The Canberra Times.
[Editor: Note the use of children as pawns for pro-Palestinianism emulating what Hamas does]