CANBERRA: Pro-Palestine protesters climbed the roof of Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, unfurling banners and accusing Israel of war crimes, TV footage showed.
The footage displayed four individuals dressed in dark clothing on the building’s roof, unveiling black banners, including one reading “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a common chant among pro-Palestine protesters.
Using a megaphone, one protester began a speech accusing the Israeli government of war crimes, an allegation Israel denies. “We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will continue to resist,” the protester declared.
A small number of police and security personnel advised people to avoid walking directly under the protest at the building’s main entrance, but there appeared to be no immediate attempt to remove the protesters, according to a Reuters witness.
“This is a serious breach of the Parliament’s security,” opposition Home Affairs spokesperson James Paterson stated on social media platform X. “The building was modified at great expense to prevent incursions like this. An investigation is required.”
The conflict in Gaza began when Hamas gunmen entered southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages back into Gaza, according to Israeli reports. In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive that has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, leaving the densely populated coastal enclave in ruins.
A UN inquiry found last month that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza conflict, stating that Israel’s actions also amounted to crimes against humanity due to the significant civilian casualties.
