Community members will again rally in Wollongong this weekend in solidarity with Palestine, vowing to keep protesting until Israel's war in Gaza ends.
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Students for Palestine, a group of University of Wollongong students, have organised a protest to take place this Sunday, November 5 in the Wollongong CBD.
It will be the third such action in three weeks.
After speeches at the amphitheatre in Crown Street Mall, protesters will march to Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes' office on lower Crown Street with a list of the names of the Palestinians who have died since October 7.
That was the date Hamas militants killed more than 1400 people and kidnapped about 200 in attacks in southern Israel, to which Israel responded with a siege and an ongoing and sustained campaign of bombing in Gaza.
Almost 8800 Palestinians have been killed in the last three and a half weeks, and organisations such as the United Nations say a humanitarian crisis is deepening in Gaza as hospitals run out of fuel and food and water grow scarcer.
Students for Palestine member Owen Marsden-Readford said supporters stood for human rights, justice, and the end of the war in Gaza.
He believed more people would come to stand with Palestine, accusing Israel of acting not in self-defence but genocide.
"The collective punishment of Palestinians is only getting more barbaric as we see Israeli tanks roll into Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion," Mr Marsden-Readford said.
Mr Marsden-Readford said protesters would end their action at Ms Byrnes' office and leave the list of dead Palestinians alongside photos there to demonstrate opposition to the Labor government's stance.
Australia abstained from voting on a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, because it did not name Hamas as the perpetrator of the October 7 attacks in Israel.
But the October 27 resolution garnered overwhelming support, with 120 countries voting for it in contrast to 14 against. Australia was one of 45 to abstain.
Mr Marsden-Readford dismissed allegations that the pro-Palestine movement was ignoring the atrocities of the Hamas attacks, saying "we do this because we hate the loss of innocent life".
The first pro-Palestine rally to take place in Wollongong since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War, held on October 21, attracted hundreds of people.
The next rally will take place at 1pm on Sunday, November 5 in Crown Street Mall.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
