Israeli president Isaac Herzog has flown out of Australia as thousands of protesters swarmed Melbourne streets, leading to tense scenes with police.
As the crowds gathered outside Flinders St Station in the heart of the city they wave placards with anti-Israel slogans and chanted ‘intifada Palestine’, a controversial phrase condemned by the Jewish community as a call for violence.
As the protesters march through the CBD, Herzog boarded a plane back to Israel following his visit already marred by wild protests in Sydney.
The 65-year-old undertook the brief three-day tour at the invitation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to provide comfort to the Jewish community following the Bondi terror attack.
On Thursday night, Victoria Police confirmed there was one person charged in Melbourne as the simmering protest managed to avoid boiling over. Officers had been granted special powers for Herzog’s visit to the city but they were not used.
‘Up to 10,000 people gathered outside Flinders Street Station and marched to Parliament as part of a planned protest,’ a spokesperson said.
‘A large police presence monitored the protest activity to ensure the safety of the broader community and those involved.
‘A 39-year-old Coburg North man was field interviewed and released pending summons for assault police. The police officer was not physically injured during the incident.’
As many as 10,000 pro-Palestine protesters gathered in Melbourne leading to tense scene with police
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog attended an event in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon before flying out in the evening
The protesters swarmed the city from South Melbourne to Flinders St Station
The tension was thick but authorities manages to avoid a repeat of Sydney wild clashes
The crowd held placards and chanted controversial slogans such as ‘globalise intifada’ and ‘from the river to the sea’
By 7.30pm on Thursday the protesters had marched to State Parliament where they chanted ‘from the river to the sea’, another controversial phrase linked Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The protests avoided similar scene to Monday night in Sydney when a crowd of more than five thousand in Sydney marched from Town Hall towards Parliament but were stopped by police, sparking violent clashes.
It was later revealed about 7,000 members of the Jewish community were attending a ‘light and solidarity’ event at the convention centre and police had been told to prevent the two groups meeting.
