Australia urges calm after violent clashes in Sydney over Herzog go to

[ad_1] Australian leaders on Tuesday urged calm and referred to as for protests to stay peaceable after clashes between police and demonstrators opposing President Isaac Herzog’s go to to Australia erupted in Sydney.

Police mentioned 27 folks had been arrested, together with 10 for allegedly assaulting officers, after violence broke out on Monday night when police moved in to clear 1000's of protesters who had gathered close to Sydney’s city corridor.

Protesters, together with an opposition lawmaker, mentioned on Tuesday that they had been assaulted by officers.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week on the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese within the aftermath of a December 14 terror capturing at a Hanukkah occasion at Sydney’s Bondi Seashore that killed 15.

The go to has attracted the ire of some folks in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Professional-Palestine, anti-Israel teams organized protests in cities and cities throughout the nation on Monday night.

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By signing up, you comply with the terms Albanese mentioned he was “devastated” by the violence and urged protesters to specific their views peacefully.

Jillian Siegel, Particular Envoy to Fight Antisemitism in Australia, listens to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese converse to the media throughout a press convention at Parliament Home in Canberra, Australia, January 8, 2026. (Lukas Coch/AAP Picture through AP) “Australians need two issues. They don’t need battle introduced right here. They need killing to cease, whether or not it’s Israelis or Palestinians, however they don't need battle introduced right here,” Albanese informed radio station Triple M.

“The causes are usually not superior by these kinds of scenes — they're undermined.”

There have been no experiences of significant accidents, New South Wales state police mentioned in an announcement.

On Tuesday, Herzog visited the Moriah Faculty Jewish highschool in Sydney, the place, amongst different issues, he spoke of the protests.

“I do know that the demonstrators and protesters who're cursing us, saying the most important lies and affirmations towards our nation, don't wish to hear this, however I consider that the silent majority of Australians undoubtedly wish to hear and transfer again on observe,” Herzog mentioned throughout a Q&A session alongside First Girl Michal Herzog with native Jewish highschool college students.

“My effort on this go to is to carry relations again on observe, improve them, and enhance them,” Herzog informed the varsity, saying this would be the focus of his Wednesday conferences with Albanese and different political officers in Canberra.

Police granted particular powers Hundreds gathered in central Sydney on Monday to protest towards Herzog’s go to.

Folks maintain up placards throughout a protest rally towards a four-day state go to by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in Melbourne on February 9, 2026. (Picture by William WEST / AFP) Police had been licensed to make use of hardly ever invoked powers throughout the protest, together with directing crowds to maneuver, limiting their entry to sure areas, and looking out autos. A authorized problem to these restrictions was dismissed by a Sydney courtroom on Monday. Herzog was not current on the protest website.

Tv footage confirmed some protesters making an attempt to push via blockades as officers compelled them again. Some had been seen mendacity on the bottom whereas police tried to restrain them.

Police used tear gasoline and pepper spray to disperse the gang.

New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns defended police actions, saying officers had been required to make fast choices in tense and risky conditions, and urged calm.

“I perceive there’s criticisms of New South Wales Police, I simply wish to make it clear they had been caught in an inconceivable state of affairs,” he informed a press convention.

First Girl Michal Herzog and President Isaac Herzog go to Moriah Faculty in Sydney on February 10, 2026 (Maayan Toaf/GPO) In an announcement, the Palestine Motion Group Sydney mentioned protesters had been unable to depart the occasion as a result of they had been surrounded by police on all sides.

“The police started charging the gang with horses, indiscriminately pepper spraying the gang, punching and arresting folks,” the group mentioned.

Abigail Boyd, an opposition Inexperienced lawmaker within the state parliament, mentioned she had been punched by officers whereas trying to vacate the location.

“I've a really sore arm and shoulder the place they punched me. I’m actually in shock,” she informed a press convention.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon mentioned police actions had been justified and that they confirmed restraint.

“Police did what they wanted to do, which was to carry the road after which kind and transfer the protesters again with a view to dispersing them,” he mentioned. “Having an offended and violent mob marching on police isn't a state of affairs that I need our officers in.”

Police deploy pepper spray to disperse pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters participating in a rally towards President Isaac Herzog’s go to to Australia in Sydney on February 9, 2026. (Saeed Khan / AFP) Josh Lees, the pinnacle of Palestine Motion Group Sydney, mentioned supporters of the group would rally outdoors police headquarters within the metropolis on Tuesday night in response to Monday’s clashes.

Herzog mentioned on the outset of his go to that he had “come right here in goodwill.”

He accused protesters of searching for to “undermine and delegitimize” Israel’s proper to exist.

The UN’s Unbiased Worldwide Fee of Inquiry discovered final yr that Herzog was chargeable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he mentioned all Palestinians — “a complete nation” — had been accountable for the Hamas assault on Israel.

Its report was revealed after a two-year investigation by the fee following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, to which it solely made a fleeting reference, whereas not together with any particulars on the assault that began the conflict in Gaza. Within the shock assault, terrorists invaders killed 1,200 folks in southern Israel and seized 251 as hostages.

Israel has “categorically” rejected the inquiry’s report, describing it as “distorted and false” and calling for the physique’s abolition.

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