Australia’s most populous state has criticised a pro-Palestine group’s plan to stage a protest event in Sydney today on the second anniversary of the attacks by Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis, Reuters reports.
The Stand for Palestine Australia group is planning a “glory to our martyrs” event on Tuesday evening in Sydney’s Bankstown suburb, drawing condemnation from Chris Minns, the premier of the state of New South Wales, which includes Sydney.
“Terrible timing, shockingly insensitive,” Minns told radio station 2GB.
“We understand that there is concern about innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, but to do it … on 7th, seems like they are glorifying the actions of these Hamas terrorists, and not the circumstance of those that are living in Gaza.”
Palestinian activist lawyer Ramia Abdo Sultan, who is scheduled to speak at the event, said in a video on the group’s Instagram account that Palestinians had been silenced and were not allowed to mourn or grieve their loved ones.
“Our own prime minister in Australia has decided to completely disregard the thousands of Palestinians that have died over the past two years,” she said.
