🔗 Share this article Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian Protests as Organisers Vow to Continue Demonstrating Numerous individuals have rallied across Australia at rallies supporting Palestine, with organizers vowing to continue protesting after a ceasefire deal negotiated by the American leader in Gaza seemed to be taking effect. Sydney Demonstration Attracts Many Participants In the harbor city, the Palestine Action Group announced thirty thousand participants had marched from the public gardens to Belmore Park in the downtown area after a intended demonstration to the Opera House was banned by the New South Wales court of appeal last week. Law enforcement estimated 8,000 people joined the Sydney protest, with a spokesperson reporting there had been "peaceful proceedings". Nationwide Demonstrations Mark Anniversary Rallies were also organized in Melbourne, eastern city and Western Australian city on the day of protest to commemorate the ongoing situation after armed incidents on 7 October 2023 resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths in Israel. "In terms of the movement, we'll absolutely continue to demonstrate for Palestinian freedom... for local governance, for support to reach and for locals to reconstruct their homes," commented a coordinator. Mixed Reactions to Ceasefire Agreement Many protesters voiced optimism that the ceasefire would lead to lasting peace. Others were sceptical of Trump's involvement and called on activists to keep pressuring the federal leadership to apply measures and stop arms transactions. A participant, a Palestinian Australian residing in the city, said he wished the arrangement could permit him to bring his elderly mother, who is still in Gaza without access to medical care, to Australia, and to find and bury his sibling, his wife and their kids, who have been missing since 2023. Local Jewish Population Conducts Service In another development, numerous people participated in a Jewish community commemoration on the evening in Sydney's eastern suburbs to commemorate the two-year mark of the 2023 incidents. One speaker, the relative of a victim, an Australian citizen who was killed during the attacks, was arranged to talk. There were wishes for quick release of the captives still held in the territory and the victims of the attacks. The Israeli ambassador, the official, paid tribute to the resolve of survivors. The participants reacted negatively when he mentioned the national leader and the foreign minister. Flotilla Participants Relate Stories The local protest earlier featured addresses including several locals freed from custody after the interception of the Sumud flotilla recently. One activist, his injured limb after it was reportedly injured in an detention facility, told that insufficient information was available about the ceasefire deal. Worldwide assistance agencies, including relief organizations, were getting ready to access the territory. "Given the ongoing conditions where there's a brutal and illegal blockade on Gaza," said the participant, flotilla activists would continue to try to transport assistance via water. Abubakir Rafiq, who returned to Sydney on recently, gave an moving testimony describing his detention with dozens of fellow detainees in Israel's Ketziot prison. Leadership Remarks The political representative Jenny Leong informed attendees: "We cannot let a situation where American leadership shapes the outcome for Palestinian communities to be the kind of world that we live in." A different coordinator who made the first proposal to march on the Opera House maintained that the protesters could have safely headed to the famous harbourside venue. The NSW police assistant commissioner had previously told the judicial body that the plan had "disaster written all over it". The activist said on Sunday: "On each occasion the authorities try to restrict our rallies or take us to the supreme court, it raises public awareness... to the importance of gathering and resist these measures."