Police fire pepper spray, arrest demonstrators at Sydney defence expo protest
Police in Sydney have fired pepper spray and arrested 13 people as pro-Palestinian protesters tried to blockade a defence expo over the presence of Israeli weapons companies, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is reporting.
Dozens of protesters from the Palestine Action Group gathered outside the International Convention Centre to protest against the presence of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the Australian subsidiary of Elbit Systems at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition.
ABC reported riot police and mounted officers clashed with protesters and fired pepper spray.
Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees said the protesters were “trying to say that this kind of abomination should not be held in our city”.
Israeli weapons contractors have been the target of protests at other defence exhibitions around the world. In September, representatives of Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems at an exhibition in Kielce were reportedly called in by Polish police for questioning after a journalist filed a complaint about their involvement in the war on Gaza.
A pro-Palestine protester rinses out her eyes after being pepper-sprayed by police at a demonstration against the presence of Israeli weapons companies at a defence expo in Sydney, Australia
Foreign minister says Israel aiming to build long-term ‘strategic partnership’ with India
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has reiterated his country’s commitment to strengthening ties with India, saying its “goal is to build the long-term strategic partnership” with New Delhi.
He made the comments at the start of a meeting with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. His remarks came after Israel and India signed an investment agreement in September.
We have previously reported that Israel has been receiving Indian weapons as it wages war on Gaza.
In December 2018, Adani Defence & Aerospace, the defence arm of the Indian multinational Adani Enterprises Ltd, and Israel’s Elbit Systems inaugurated the Adani Elbit Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Complex in the Indian city of Hyderabad.
In a joint statement, the facility was described as “the first outside Israel to manufacture the Hermes 900 Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV”, an unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly for up to 36 hours at an altitude of 9,000 metres (30,000ft).
The use of Hermes drones has been documented by Human Rights Watch and other organisations in previous conflicts in Gaza.
Israeli far-right minister accused of verbally abusing lawmaker in parliament
Israeli politician Pnina Tamano-Shata has accused far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of verbally abusing and threatening her inside Israel’s parliament.
Tamano-Shata, a former minister and the first Ethiopia-born woman to serve in Israel’s cabinet, said Ben Gvir approached her closely and called her “f**ked up and stupid” after she criticised police conduct towards members of the Ethiopian Jewish community.
“After I confronted the minister regarding the violent arrests of two children of Ethiopian descent, he pressed up against my face in a violent and threatening manner, even though I asked him to step back,” she wrote on X. “The incident was not captured on camera, but there are plenty of witnesses.”
The Ethiopian community in Israel has long accused authorities of discrimination and excessive use of force. Ben Gvir, an ultranationalist and illegal settler of the occupied West Bank, has faced repeated criticism over discrimination against both Palestinians and marginalised groups within Israel.
