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In the evening of the 3rd of April, a group of no more than 50 protestors stood in front of the Queensland Parliament House in solidarity with Palestine. A snap rally had been called by the Palestine human rights organisation ‘Justice for Palestine’ ((1) Justice for Palestine Magan-djin | Facebook 2025).
CONTEXT
The Sunday before, on the 30th of March, 15 bodies were found in a mass grave in Palestine. Eight of whom were medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (Doran 2025b) .
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are confirmed to have fired upon a group of ambulances, fire trucks and United Nations (UN) SUVs. The bodies were found buried under deep mounds of dirt and sand (Doran 2025a).
The UN has severely criticised the IDF. However, like many accounts of human rights abuses committed against the people of Palestine, there has been no tangible change to the behaviour of the IDF.
The IDF absurdly claim that the ambulances and fire trucks had approached troops in a “suspicious manner” (Doran 2025b).
The Red Crescent emblem that was displayed on the vehicles is recognised in international humanitarian law and it should afford the vehicles protection.
However, like throughout the rest of the genocide on the people of Gaza the IDF have consistently refused to comply with international law.
BRISBANE PROTEST
The 3rd of April had a few small showers throughout the afternoon, and unfortunately, this dissuaded the typical number of attendees from attending the protest.
The protest’s specific aims were to call on the Queensland government to cease the support for weapons companies operating within Queensland to manufacture and export weapons to Israel.
The protest coincided with the sitting of the Queensland Parliament. However, during the running hours of the protest from 6 pm to 7 pm, the Legislative Assembly had taken a break, and no members were present in the chamber. If they had been, the chants and the speaker’s voice would have been heard.
One of the most notable speakers was Michelle McDonald, the Senate candidate for the political party ‘Australia’s Voice’. She stood firmly with the rhetoric of their leader and only Senator, Fatima Payman, calling for an end to Australia’s military exports to Israel.
McDonald additionally supports the establishment of an anti-genocide commissioner to ensure that those who do not comply with anti-genocide legislation would face penalties.
The event concluded with the attendees standing in front of Parliament and taking a group photo, rallying around a large “Free Palestine” – “Stop the Genocide” banner.
(1) Justice for Palestine Magan-djin | Facebook, 2025, <https://www.facebook.com/justiceforpalestinebrisbane/about>.
Doran, M 2025a, ‘Bodies of 15 Palestinian medics and emergency crews recovered after Israel confirmed it opened fire on convoy’, ABC News.
—— 2025b, ‘Israeli military investigating killing of 15 Palestinian medics, but denies ‘execution”, ABC News.
Written by Samuel Wong
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