Activists have vowed to deliver a large-scale demonstration if Australia welcomes the Israeli president to town.
Defying anti-protest laws passed following the Bondi terrorist attack, hundreds gathered at Sydney Town Hall on Friday evening and were met with a large police presence.
Demonstrators were protesting the laws and a proposed visit to Australia by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Mr Herzog to visit Australia in the wake of the December 12 terrorist attack, in which 15 innocent people were killed.
A United Nations commission of inquiry found Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that Mr Herzog was one individual who had incited said genocide.
Stop the War on Palestine member Adam Adelpour addressed the crowd in Sydney and flagged mass demonstrations if Mr Herzog visited Australia.
"Isaac Herzog will not go anywhere in this country without massive protests," he said.
"We won't just assemble with far bigger numbers than this - we will assemble in numbers commensurate with the genocide he has carried out."
The protesters condemned the new anti-protest laws passed in NSW parliament, which give NSW Police the power to refuse to authorise protests in key Sydney areas.
The laws don't explicitly ban protests but remove certain protections offered to authorised demonstrations, leaving participants vulnerable to arrest for obstructing traffic or pedestrians.
Demonstrators did not undertake their customary march through Sydney's streets on Friday and were instead static, complying with police directions.
NSW Police confirmed one man - reportedly a counter-protester - was arrested for breaching the peace, but was released without charge.
Three other people were spoken to for similar breaches and left the scene without incident, police said.
A legal challenge has been filed against the anti-protest laws, arguing they are unconstitutional because they impermissibly burden the implied freedom of speech.
The declarations can be made fortnightly for up to three months after a declared terror event.
"We are all the defenders of our democracy … we will not let (NSW Premier) Chris Minns steal our democracy," Greens MP Sue Higginson told the crowd.
The Middle East conflict erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters invaded Israel, killing about 1200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies.
