What we learned; Tuesday 10 February
We will wrap up the live blog here for the evening. This is what made the news:
There was ongoing criticism of the police handling of the protest against Israel’s president Isaac Herzog in Sydney. The Greens said the police action amounted to “summary physical punishment against legitimate and peaceful protest”.
Dozens of Muslim organisations across Australia have condemned the NSW police disrupting a Muslim prayer and the use of force at the protest.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, defended police, saying they were “put in an impossible situation”.
Anthony Albanese says all views on Herzog’s visit should be expressed “peacefully”, and that the Israeli president’s visit is appropriate.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said the protests last night were a “disgrace”.
New South Wales police say nine people have been charged after yesterday’s protest.
Labor backbencher Ed Husic has questioned the police actions.
Demonstrators gathered outside Surry Hills police station to protest what they have characterised as police brutality at last night’s protest.
First Nations Australians will be able to make submissions to the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, and the minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy is encouraging the community to do that.
Sussan Ley survived a party room meeting with her leadership in tact, while her supporters have called for those wanting a spill to sign their names to a motion if they’re making a move.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull accused his own party of abandoning the centre for an ideological “la la land”.
The Australian government should take stronger action against the Laotian government over the deaths of two Australian women, Sussan Ley and the shadow foreign minister, Michaelia Cash, said.
We’ll be back tomorrow with all the latest.
Updated
Leader of prayer group moved on by police at yesterday’s rally addresses Sydney protest
One of the men who led the prayer group moved on by police at the Sydney town hall protest yesterday has addressed the crowd outside Surry Hills police station.
Sheikh Wesam Charkawi says the group had decided to move away from the road while conducting the prayer.
We didn’t want to instigate anybody. We weren’t baiting anyone. We wanted to find that private space. And anybody that knows our tradition is that when the time of prayer comes, you pray. And the prayer literally takes about three or four minutes. We conducted ourselves in the prayer. And naturally people, when they see a congregational prayer, they join. And so as we there was one line, a second line, and there was a third row of women.
He alleges this first line of women was the first to be “attacked by police”.
I saw one of the young men, and we have an 18-year-old with us today, who said he was kneed in the back by New South Wales Police, and one of the other men who dropped us off here today, he was too traumatised to get out of the car and be with us today, because he was that guy that went flying about two metres after he came up from the most holiest position when he had his face in prostration and prayer.
Updated
