PERTH PROTESTS TO CONTINUE AGAINST ISRAELI BOMBINGS ON GAZA
Palestinians inspect the ruins of Aklouk Tower destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. Credit: Palestinian News & Information Agency in contract with APAi mages.
BY GERARD MAZZA
The Perth Palestinian community and its supporters plan to protest on Saturday against Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza.
Similar protests were held last weekend across Australia, including in Perth.
Gaza health authorities say more than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 11 days since Israel’s bombardment began.
Aid agencies have reported no assistance has been able to reach Gaza for an entire week.
Israel’s bombings are in response to an attack by militant group Hamas which took place on 7 October.
Former Gaza resident and Friends of Palestine Western Australia member Ayman Quaider said a “genocidal war” is taking place in Gaza against the Palestinian people.
He said he’s had difficulty contacting loved ones trapped in the bombardment.
“it’s been quite challenging for me to connect with my own family, with my own friends, because the internet service providers have been targetted, the telecommunications companies have been targeted,” he said.
“We live second-by-second to basically receive any information about our own families, whether they’re still alive or not.”
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Senate earlier in the week.
Senator Thorpe said Palestinians had experienced a similar struggle to First Nations people in Australia.
While Senator Thorpe made clear she condemned Hamas' attacks on Israeli civilians, she also said she condemned violence by Israel in the past and present.
“Israel's indiscriminate bombings on Gaza are killing thousands of innocent people, people who already had to suffer for so many decades in what is often called the world's biggest prison,” she said.
“These people didn't attack Israel, and yet they are the human collateral of Israel fighting back against Hamas with unprecedented force.”
Senator Thorpe also criticised the Australian government’s support of Israel, saying: 'I'm not surprised the Australian government, which is itself the illegal occupier of these lands, condones illegal occupation of other lands, and sides with an oppresive regime.”
Ayman Quaider said video of Senator Thorpe’s speech had circulated widely in the Palestinian community.
“It was really uplifting to see a courageous and brave parliamentarian that spoke up against what’s happened in Gaza,” he said.
The Friends of Palestine Western Australia will hold a protest from midday on Saturday at Perth’s Stirling Gardens.
Listen to an interview with Ayman Quaider: