SYDNEY (Dispatches) – Australian police arrested 23 pro-Palestinian protesters for blocking roads near one of the country’s largest container ports in Sydney, authorities said on Wednesday, after they protested against a ship owned by Israeli carrier Zim.
About 400 people had gathered near Port Botany on Tuesday evening for a planned protest activity, New South Wales state police said.
Protesters carried Palestinian flags, chanted “free Palestine” to banging drums, and held signs “Boycott ZIM” and “End the Gaza Blockade,” television footage showed. Police forcibly removed some protesters from near the port’s entrance.
The Zionist regime’s aggression against Gaza has triggered protests from both Jewish and Palestinian groups across the world, including in Australia, which has seen rallies in its largest cities.
Anti-Israeli stickers were plastered on the front doors and red paint was sprayed on the walls of an outlet of McDonald’s and Starbucks in Melbourne early this week after a protest march on Sunday, media reported.
McDonald’s said it was dismayed by the disinformation and inaccurate reports on its position and that it was not funding or supporting any governments involved in the conflict.
In Zionist regime attacks, at least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 5,600 children.
Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday asked his cabinet to back a deal to clear the way for the release of some of the captives.