Return of the ‘pro-Palestinian, anti-war’ protests

Good news for the defenders of tyranny, oppression, and mass terror: the weekly pro-Hamas, anti-Israel protests are back on the streets of Australia’s major cities, once again presenting themselves as “pro-Palestinian” and “anti-war” demonstrations.

But let’s be clear — they are neither.

These protests, which have become annoyingly disruptive fixtures in all our major cities, were occurring weekly before slowing to a monthly frequency. Now, with the resumption of the war in Gaza, organisers claim they will return to the streets every week, vowing to continue until there is a ceasefire.

Yet at the same time, they openly support the so-called “resistance” — a term that, in this context, is understood to obviously mean continued violence against Israel and its supporters.

So, which is it? A demand for peace or a call for war?

This fatally flawed logic does not seem to trouble the protestors, just as other inconsistencies in their movement have never seemed to cause any doubts or self-reflection.

If these demonstrations were genuinely about Palestinian lives, one might expect to hear outrage over Hamas’ treatment of its own people.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Gazans protesting Hamas rule – reflecting a growing frustration among ordinary Gazans who have suffered under Hamas’ brutal control, a rule that has left much of Gaza devastated.

And protesting Hamas rule is a good thing, with even Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese having echoed the sentiment of the Gaza protestors, saying there should be no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza.

Yet, there has been virtually no practical support for these demonstrations in the enlightened Western world.

Take the case of Odai al-Rabei, a Palestinian dissident who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas for participating in anti-Hamas protests. His body was dragged through the streets and then left on his family’s doorstep as a warning to others. His crime? Daring to speak out about the horrors Hamas has created for the residents of Gaza.

Reports from Gaza say Hamas has murdered at least six organisers of the demonstrations.

One might expect that a movement claiming to support Palestinian civilians would condemn such brutality. Yet from these protestors, there has been only silence. No rallies, no statements, no indignation, not even a strongly worded letter – nothing.

But when Israel takes military action against the same people who killed Odai, the demonstrators then suddenly beat their chests with outrage at the “injustice” that has befallen the Palestinian people. When Israel tries to remove Hamas from power – the same goal Odai was seeking – suddenly they find a moral centre, demanding the world stop Israel’s “genocide”.

What happened to protecting innocent Palestinian lives? Why does this concern vanish when Hamas is the one spilling Palestinian blood?

During the war, Palestinian civilians have been prevented from fleeing Gaza to seek a safe haven elsewhere, with the Arab world largely refusing to accept them. Jordan’s King Abdullah II defended his refusal, saying: “No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt.”  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi expressed a similar sentiment saying Egypt won’t participate in what he called an “act of injustice”.

By “act of injustice” President Sisi means allowing Gazans to seek safety elsewhere. Yet Syrians fleeing civil war found refuge in neighbouring countries and in Europe. Ukrainians escaping war were also welcomed across Europe. It seems only when Palestinians seek safety is it considered an “act of injustice”.

Once again, where is the outrage among the so-called champions of Palestinian rights? Where are the mass protests outside the Jordanian and Egyptian embassies?

Have these protestors ever genuinely stood up for Palestinian lives anywhere? Because they certainly aren’t concerned that seemingly every public building in Gaza, including schools, hospitals, kindergartens, mosques and UN facilities, were appropriated for Hamas’ terror machine – used as launching pads for attacks on Israeli civilians, as weapons depots, or military headquarters. This illegal practice greatly endangered Gazan civilians, because it was inevitable Israel would retaliate, and Hamas’ actions made all these civilian sites legitimate targets under the Law of War.

Their silence on these issues exposes the movement for what it truly is – not a pro-Palestinian cause borne out of concern for the lives being lost, but an anti-Israel one forged in hatred. This is why the protestors’ narrative remains unchanged, why their slogans are chanted mindlessly, and why they blindly follow like sheep – always insisting that Israel is solely to blame.

The war can end today if Hamas lays down its weapons and returns the hostages. But as long as the protestors don’t demand this action – an action that would alleviate the suffering of ordinary Palestinian civilians – then their weekly chants and demonstrations will be, in effect, calls for the war to continue and the suffering to go on.