The 400th day of Israel’s genocide against the people of Gaza was marked by large protest rallies across Australia on November 10. It was the 57th continuous week of protest.
Meanwhile, while the media was focussed on the United States elections, Israel continued its systematic campaign of extreme ethnic cleansing — known as the “General’s Plan” — in northern Gaza.
Democracy Now reported on November 8 that “for the last seven weeks, Israel has allowed almost no food or aid into northern Gaza as the United Nations (UN) has repeatedly warned the entire northern population is ‘at imminent risk of dying’”.
Human Rights Watch has confirmed that “hundreds of thousands of civilians” are at risk in northern Gaza.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese released a second report detailing the nature of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Israeli newspaper Haaretz acknowledged the ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza in a November 10 editorial.
The UN also reported that 70% of the Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza are women and children.
While US President-elect Donald Trump has claimed he wants Israel’s “war” over by his January inauguration, he has also argued that Israel needs to “finish the job” in Gaza.
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Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do what you have to do” before Israel’s October 25 attack on Iran.
Pro-Trump think tank director Mark Dubowitz told the Times of Israel that “ending the war” does not mean an end to “Israeli operations in Gaza or in southern Lebanon or against Iran”.
Palestinians remain worried. “I have no trust in America,” 87-year-old Gaza resident Abu Ali told Al Jazeera. “I’m expecting the war in Gaza to get even worse [under Trump].”
Nevertheless, the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements continue to extract a military cost to Israel,
Israel’s economy remains under pressure and international solidarity movements are scoring victories, such as Barclays Bank recently deciding to divest from Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems.
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Diyanna told the November 10 Magan-djin/Brisbane rally that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has won victories in the last year. These include that McDonalds has lost over $7 billion in market capitalisation and that “Nestlé has publicly attributed their sales decline to the pro-Palestine BDS movement”.
“Coca Cola and Pepsico continue to report global sales declines even after their damage control efforts,” she said.
After marching through the CBD, the rally ended with a brief occupation of the City Hall.
Phil Monsour of Justice for Palestine told the sit-in that it is when “ordinary people step up and organise” that victories can be won. He recalled a large public forum after Timor Leste won its independence and projected a similar large public forum when Palestine wins its freedom.
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In Naarm/Melbourne, 3000 protesters took to the streets on November 10 for the 57th consecutive weekly Free Palestine rally, jointly organised with Sawt Alsudan.
Protesters demonstrated against the genocide in Gaza, violence in West Bank and Lebanon and against the counter-revolutionary war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forced and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Organisers emphasised the need for international solidarity between the peoples of Sudan and Palestine in their struggles for liberation and freedom.
Independent Senator Fatima Payman spoke and received great acclaim.
About 2000 people mobilised for the weekly Gadigal Country/Sydney protest on November 10, after hearing from a defiant Nakba survivor. The popular chant “One. We are the people. Two; we won’t be silenced. Three; stop the bombing now, now, now, now!” rang through the CBD.
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In Boorloo/Perth, 500–600 people joined a spirited march on November 10. A screening of Farha at the Boorloo Activist Centre on November 9, organised by Jews for Palestine, Mums for Palestine and Girls Night for Palestine, raised more than $1500 for Olive Kids to support Palestinian children.
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Protesters also took to the streets in Tharawal Country/Wollongong on November 9.
The Magan-djin/Brisbane rally also launched a music video of the song “Which side are you on?” by Phil Monsour, Ethan Enouch, Sophie Nishizawa and Matt Hsu. The video includes a montage of images from the Gaza solidarity campaign of the past 13 months.
Two peace activists defended themselves in court last week over charges relating to a protest against weapons company Boeing in February.
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