Protesters marked 11 months of Israelās genocidal assault against the people of Gaza over September 7ā8, as Israel continued to thwart negotiations for a ceasefire.
Israel killed in Gaza over that weekend, adding to the more than 41,000 killed in Gaza, including at least 16,500 children ā although the real death toll is likely much higher. Israel has also killed hundreds in the Occupied West Bank.
AyÅenur Eygi, a United States campus activist, was killed by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank village of Beita on September 6. The 26-year-old was aĀ Ā of Seattle, Washington, had been a student organiser. She was , activists said.
The International Solidarity MovementĀ Ā that Eygi was the 18th person to be killed in Beita since 2020, following the establishment of Evyatar, a settlement outpost, on village land.
Israel continued to launch attacks against Lebanon, killing three healthcare workers in the town of Faroun on September 7. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, said 27 health workers have been killed so far and close to 100 injured.
More than 625,000 school students in Gaza have been unable to return for the new school year, on September 9, meaning a second school year has been disrupted.
Many have attempted to continue their schooling through online platforms, but the constant bombardment, destruction of infrastructure, displacement and disruptions to mobile phone and internet connection make this very difficult.Ā
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At the 48th weekly protest against the genocide in Naarm/Melbourne on September 8, Brandon M reports that speakers called on Labor to end its support for Israel.Ā
Uncle Wayne āCocoā Wharton, Kooma Murri man and Aboriginal activist, spoke of the links between the genocide in Gaza and the genocide of First Nations people in so-called Australia. He said āceaseless discussionā of interconnected struggles is needed to create change.
āWhat we have to do is open our eyes,ā Wharton said. āThe system must be replaced ā¦ what you are doing here today is part of that.ā HeĀ encouraged people to vote for alternatives to Labor and Liberal.
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Megan Krakouer, Menang woman of Noongar Nation and director of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, said: āIt makes me sad to see, at the 48th week ā¦ we still have to fight for whatās right.ā
She said Labor was indifferent to the deaths of Palestinians, as they are to First Nations people.
ā[The death] of children breaks the souls of many, but not the Australian government. We must all stand up for what is right. Keep speaking, keep talking.ā
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The day before,Ā hundreds marched to Labor MP Peter Khalilās Coburg office to condemn the Anthony Albanese government's support for Israel, at a rally organised by Merri-bek for Palestine, reports Alex Bainbridge.Ā
āIt is close to a year since Israel began itās genocide against Palestine, yet there is still little to no action from the Albanese government,ā rally co-chair Jacob Andrewartha told the crowd.
āThe Albanese government claims to support peace in Palestine, but has refused to condemn Israelās war crimes, ban weapons exports to Israel or eject the Israeli ambassador.ā
Pro-Palestine candidates in the coming local council elections were given a platform, including Socialist Alliance Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton, Greensā Darebin candidate Muhammad Helmy and Victorian Socialistsā Bullek-bek candidate Louisa Bassini.
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Thousands marched for Gaza in Gadigal Country/Sydney on September 8, in the 48th week since Israelās latest genocidal war began, reports Pip Hinman.
Speakers emphasised that every march, every action and every conversation about Palestineās right to self-determination helps.Ā Ā
The next protest in the city will be on September 14, 1pm at Sydney Town Hall. As it is the local government election day, it will be a chance to send a message that councils can, and must, take a stand for human rights.
Palestine supporters looking for pro-Palestine candidates at upcoming local government elections in New South Wales and Victoria can check .
The āWe Vote for Palestineā campaignĀ is asking candidates to pledge to support Palestine solidarity actions on council and has compiled a list of responses. The initiative is supported by a range of pro-PalestineĀ groups.
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Meanwhile, mainstream media and Coalition leader Peter Dutton are attacking pro-Palestine candidates for expressing support for the Palestinian resistance.Ā
The Sydney Morning Herald published an article attacking Dr Ziad Basyouny for a social post he made last year. Basyouny has announced he will run as an Independent inĀ the seat of Watson in Western Sydney, currently held by Laborās Tony Burke.Ā Ā
Basyouny on September 6 that he supports āthe inherent right of Palestinians to take back and defend their land and to resist oppressionā.
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āFood, water, medicine now!ā was the theme of the Justice for Palestine (JFP) rally on September 8 in Magan-djin/Brisbane, reports Kamala Emanuel.
Hundreds came out to hear speakers including Fadlullah Wilmot, who has worked for over 20 years in the humanitarian sector, including in conflict zones and disaster zones.
He spoke about the three things so essential to life: water, medical attention and food and shelter. āThe Israeli government is deliberately denying the people of Gaza all of these three things,ā he said. āThey want to make Gaza uninhabitable.ā
Oncologist Taz Hossain told the rally that āIsrael's decimation of Gaza's healthcare system may be the most acute and most preventable global health catastrophe in the world todayā.
āWiping out the leadership of the healthcare system is a deliberate part of destroying the system as a whole, today and into the future,ā she said.
She criticised the āsilenceā of medical bodies, colleges and institutions.
āThe Australian Medical Association rightfully voiced support for Ukrainian refugees in the past, yet remains silent on the clear violation of medical ethical principles displayed by Israel, giving their tacit consent to genocide,ā she said.
She said the hope lies in grassroots efforts around the world.
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Two days earlier, JFP rallied outside the office of Brisbane Deputy Mayor Krista Adams.
Adams successfully moved a motion at the Brisbane City Council meeting on September 3 requesting that Greens Councillor Trina Massey repay almost $20,000 for a council newsletter.
, sent to residents in her ward, included a story about local resident Khalil who was forced to leave Palestine at age six, as a result of the ethnic cleansing to form the state of Israel in 1948.
The that Massey submitted the newsletter to all the normal council approval processes. Massey told the ABC that the Liberal National Party majority on council ācould have stopped the newsletter going to print, but instead chose to go to the media and then put up a motion without noticeā.
At the September 6 rally, JFP's Phil Monsour said that āthey can't even leave us with our storiesā.
āThey take the country, they take the land, they kill the people. And when we try to just tell a story, they take that away.ā He told the action that those in power don't want ordinary people to hear such āpowerful storiesā.
āMaybe the whole justification for this genocide, the justification for these decades of war, for the murder, the torture, the assassinations disappears because it's as simple as that story.
āItāsĀ as simple as a six-year-old boy, whose family was kicked off their land, and they just want their land back and they want to go home.ā
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A large crowd joined the 45th consecutive weekly protest in Tharawal/Wollongong on September 7, reports Indrek Torilo.
The rally was organised by Wollongong Friends of Palestine.
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