As thousands marched through central Melbourne on Sunday to support Palestine, Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe sparked controversy by declaring she would “burn down Parliament House to make a point” if she had to.
With a Gaza ceasefire deal and the return of the remaining Israeli hostages imminent, 3500 protesters gathered in the city centre, according to Victoria Police.
Hundreds of members of the Jewish community gathered in Caulfield to welcome Monday’s expected peace deal.
Israel is expected to release nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners – about 250 prisoners in Israeli jails and about 1700 people detained in Gaza since the war began – on Monday in exchange for the 20 remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis turned out on the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday to welcome the hostage deal, as US President Donald Trump prepared to fly to Egypt for a peace ceremony on Monday to be attended by as many as 20 other national leaders.
In Melbourne, the regular Free Palestine rally proceeded with speakers acknowledging that the peace deal was set to bring an end to the current conflict – but most eyed it with suspicion.
Among those to take to the stage was Thorpe, who compared the fate of the Palestinian people in Gaza to that of Indigenous Australians.
“We stand in solidarity because,” she said, “we know what it’s like to have a boot on our neck every moment that we are alive. But we have survived.”
