Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters rally to block Israeli ship at Sydney's Port Botany

A pro-Palestine rally took place at Sydney’s Port Botany on Saturday in a bid to block an Israeli transporter ship from operating.

The rally was organised by the Australian Palestine Justice Movement, which managed to bring out hundreds of demonstrators in an attempt to stop the Israeli ZIM shipping line from docking.

"Our demonstration against ZIM is starting! Hundreds of supporters from the community and unions standing against genocide and its enablers on the port and in politics," the group wrote on X. 

The activists also took to the waters on jet skis demanding action against "a major supporter of Israel and the Israeli Defence Forces".

Powerful protest today to launch the campaign to #blocktheboat. We're proud to work with @unions4palestin to say ZIM out of Botany. Follow us for updates and action alerts! pic.twitter.com/p4RjjeG92Y

— Palestine Justice Movement Sydney (@PalestineRising) November 11, 2023

Following the call of the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign (BDS) against Israel, the group says its actions against ZIM were aimed at the "bloody forces of war, colonisation and racism".

"[N]o Zim ships in Port Botany while Israel is carrying out a genocide," the group said on social media.

The protest went ahead despite the opposition of Chris Minns, the Labor Party premier of NSW, who said that no ship should be blockaded.

"I just want to make it clear that living in a free country doesn’t mean that you can walk down to the port and stop lawful trade between Australia and its trading partners around the world," Minns said, as reported by Sky News Australia.

He then went on to say that it was "ridiculous" for the protesters to try to stop trade based on "personal preference".

Israel has killed over 11,000 Palestinians, most of them innocent civilians, including over 4,000 children, in just over a month of its war waged against the Gaza strip.

In response to the onslaught, hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have come out to streets around world calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.