By Berk Kutay Gokmen
ISTANBUL (AA) – Authorities in Sydney have begun to tighten security around the Central Business District (CBD) ahead of Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia on Monday, as a pro-Palestine group calls for protests over Israeli forces' continued violations of the Gaza ceasefire and nearly daily killings of Palestinians.
A high-security cordon will lock down parts of the CBD, resulting in road closures, diverted buses, and towed vehicles, according to local 7News on Sunday.
“You will see motorcades. Obviously, with the tensions associated with this visit, you will see additional numbers,” New South Wales (NSW) Police acting assistant commissioner Paul Dunstan was quoted by the media outlet as saying.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Herzog following the Bondi Beach attack in December, which killed 15 people and injured 42, with the Israeli president set to meet leaders and victims’ families.
“The President’s come here to mourn, and that’s very understandable. I don’t want to see trouble on our streets as a result,” NSW Transport Minister John Graham said.
But the Palestine Action Group is taking Premier Chris Minns to the Supreme Court to challenge protest restrictions imposed for a planned rally at Town Hall on Monday night, according to the broadcaster.
The group has slammed what it calls “absolutely extraordinary and draconian powers to basically shut down our entire city.”
“And for what? In the interest of parading out a war criminal to this country,” the group's spokesperson, Josh Lees, said. Authorities have urged protesters to relocate to Hyde Park, outside the declared exclusion zone.
“We should have the right to protest,” Lees said, adding: “These streets of Sydney belong to the people of Sydney. They do not belong to the Israeli president or Premier Chris Minns.”
Tight security arrangements will remain in place throughout Herzog’s visit, with rolling road closures and random inspection points across the inner city and eastern suburbs all week.
Protests are planned in 24 cities across the country, including the capital, Canberra, Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne, on Monday against Herzog’s visit.
A ceasefire halted an Israeli offensive that began in Oct. 2023, killing nearly 72,000 Palestinians and wounding more than 171,000 others, while destroying about 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure.
Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued to violate it, killing 576 Palestinians and wounding 1,543 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.