Calls to Ban Palestinian Road Convoys in NSW Have Been Rejected

A NSW minister’s request for a ban on Palestinian road convoys has been rejected, as protest action for Palestinian liberation across Australia has continued for the sixth consecutive week. 

In a letter to the NSW Minns government, federal Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser requested a ban on Palestinian road convoys, writing they aimed to “create fear in suburbs with large Jewish populations” and that it was the government’s duty to ban them.

Roads minister John Graham rejected the calls, saying that while Leeser was an “outstanding MP”, a ban on the road convoys would see the government “intervene legally with people driving across the city”.

The government said instead they were focused on the enforcement of anti-vilification and hate speech provisions in NSW law.

On the weekend, tens of thousands rallied in cities across Australia for the sixth consecutive week.

The rallies, calling for a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, have joined other protest actions across the country, such as sit-ins on Parliament steps in Melbourne, as well as in Docklands to block Israeli arms shipments.

Last week, the Caulfield post of Palestinian-Australian-owned restaurant Burgertory was firebombed by arsonists.

Victoria Police said its investigation into the incident was “well advanced” but said officers had not yet uncovered evidence to indicate the arson attack was politically motivated or a hate crime.

Burgertory’s CEO, Hash Tayeh, who has been a vocal presence at rallies for Palestine, and who had called for a ceasefire on his company’s social media in the lead-up to the fire, has claimed otherwise.

“Police are still investigating so I can’t comment on that but what I can say is that whether it was a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian or an atheist, it’s a hate crime, and to say it’s a hate crime is not saying it’s a Jewish person, it’s saying you’ve hurt me, you’ve hurt my livelihood, you’ve hurt the livelihood of my staff,” he told the ABC.

Police were treating the attack as “suspicious”, however have since said investigations into whether it was politically or racially motivated have stalled.

After receiving death threats in the wake of the attack, Tayeh said he had moved his family into a safe house.

Overnight, graffiti stating “ceasefire now”, “blood on your hands” and “free Gaza” was left on Federal Labor minister Peter Khalil’s office on Sydney road in Coburg.

Hundreds had marched down Sydney road to Khalil’s office on Saturday.

The minister had posted on Instagram a screenshot of an article mentioning the Australian government’s push for a ceasefire, however has not publicly called for a ceasefire himself.

Last week, the minister posted a statement on Instagram criticising a protest that saw fake corpses covered in blood left at the entrances to several Labor ministers offices, including his own.

He called the protests, which were organised by No More Bodies in Gaza, “intimidation and vandalism”.

“I call on all sides of politics and all parties to avoid using the conflict overseas… for domestic political gain” he said.

No More Bodies in Gaza called for the government to withdraw diplomatic and economic support for the state of Israel along with the supply of arms.

“The bodies we have laid at the offices of the parliamentarians are equal to the number of Palestinian deaths per hour in Gaza,” the group said in a statement.

“A ceasefire alone will not end the occupation, and without an end, the cycle of violence will continue as it has done for the last 75 years.”

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