from thefreeonline on 30 Jan 24 by Briana Charles at Al Jazeera-
A blockade eventually broken up by police stopped the Israeli-owned ZIM Ganges from reaching a Melbourne port for days.
Police deployed pepper spray against the people blockading the port [Leo Mace/Al Jazeera]
Melbourne, Australia – Ports have emerged as the centre of pro-Palestine rallies in Australia as protesters target Israeli ships, and vessels alleged to have links with the country.
Last week, dozens of people attempted to stop the ZIM Ganges container ship from reaching the Port of Melbourne, with police eventually deploying pepper spray to break up the blockade against a backdrop of shipping containers and cranes, the familiar symbols of a global industrialised world.
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Dozens were arrested after the picket blocked access to the wharf and forced the Victorian International Container Terminal (VICT) to close. Voluntary legal observers (MALS) who were accompanying the protesters say they were met by about 200 police, some of whom were on horseback.
Tasnim Mahmoud Sammak of the community organisation Free Palestine Melbourne was at the blockade, which lasted for four days.
“I have family in Gaza and they have nowhere to go in the bombarded prison it has become,” she said.
Continue reading “Australia’s pro-Palestinian activists to continue targeting Israeli ships”
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