Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday after the NSW Supreme Court rejected a police application to ban the rally on public safety grounds. Justice Belinda Rigg ruled that disruption caused by peaceful protests is not sufficient reason to prohibit the event, which aims to highlight what the United Nations has described as 'worsening famine conditions' in Gaza.
The demonstration, organised by the Palestinian Action Group Sydney, has drawn support from activists nationwide, human rights groups, and several MPs, including former Socceroo Craig Foster. In a last-minute move, a pro-Israel fringe group applied for a counter-protest in the tunnel under the harbour but withdrew the application shortly after.
Meanwhile, a YouGov poll commissioned by the Australian Alliance for Peace and Human Rights found that 61 per cent of Australians want tougher government measures to stop Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The survey of 1,507 voters, conducted in late July, revealed that 42 per cent of coalition voters, 68 per cent of Labor voters, 91 per cent of Greens voters, and 77 per cent of independent voters support stronger action, including economic sanctions and an end to any arms trade with Israel.
The poll's findings coincide with a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where local health authorities report more than 60,000 Palestinian deaths, including over 17,000 children, with dozens dying from starvation in recent weeks. The conflict began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
