Police used pepper spray on pro-Palestine activists during a protest that blocked part of a busy intersection next to the Flemington racecourse ahead of the Melbourne Cup.
Four people were in police custody on Tuesday afternoon after being arrested at the protest, where about 100 activists chanted “free Palestine” and “ceasefire now” outside the major sporting event and blocked a road leading to the racecourse.
Footage of the protest showed activists blocking the entrance and being surrounded by police.
In a video posted on social media, one protester is seen holding a lit flare while standing on top of a van, with the words “free Palestine” written on it. Videos also show police dragging protesters away from the scene as they attempted to move traffic through the intersection.
A Victoria police spokesperson said about 100 pro-Palestine protesters arrived at the roundabout at Epsom Road, Ascot Vale Road and Racecourse Road at about 11am.
“A female protester arrived in a white van and climbed on to the roof where for some time, she failed to obey police instructions to come down,” the spokesperson said.
“In the course of managing the non-compliant protesters, police sprayed protesters before arresting three of them, who were all male.”
The spokesperson said the female on top of the van was also arrested. Police arranged for the van to be towed away.
“The incident caused traffic disruptions at an important intersection on Melbourne Cup Day,” the spokesperson said.
“The incident resolved at about 1.15pm when police successfully dispersed the protesters.”
Zionism Victoria strongly condemned the protest and criticised its “disruptive” nature.
At last year’s Melbourne Cup, protesters dumped 1,000 litres of oily sludge on Flemington racecourse. Climate group Extinction Rebellion said the protesters behind that incident were friends of the group.
Pro-Palestine rallies were held across Australia over the past weekend, for the fourth week in a row, with thousands calling for a ceasefire and an end to the bombardment of Gaza.
Rallies were held in major cities across the country, including in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, and came after over 10,000 people marched in Sydney on Saturday.
The Melbourne rally reportedly attracted tens of thousands of supporters to the State Library, where they marched through the city, chanting for a ceasefire.
The rally’s all came despite rain in some cities, and in increasing numbers as Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza in response to the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,400 people in early October.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network’s president, Nasser Mashni, said the protests had attracted “tens of thousands” of people and were set to continue.
“Generations of Australians have protested in solidarity with Palestinians, calling for Palestinian self-determination and freedom from Israeli occupation, for the past 75 years,” he said,
“The past five weeks alone, we’ve seen tens of thousands of people of good conscience across the continent protest against Israeli violence against Palestine.”
Separately, a Melbourne tribute wall to the 240 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza was targeted with graffiti reading “Free Palestine” plastered along the “wall of hope”.
Dvir Abramovich, chair of the anti-defamation commission, condemned the defacing of the wall, saying it left the Jewish community “shocked and outraged”.
“This evil desecration of this wall, dedicated to those innocents kidnapped by the Hamas terrorists and held in Gaza, is a violation that must be condemned by every religious and political leader,” he said.
“This is personal for me, and these flyers [on the wall] express the profound pain we are feeling for the Israeli children, men and women abducted by Hamas. We want to ensure that they are not forgotten.”
