New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has accused organisers of pro-Palestine protests in Sydney of being “a pack of communists” intent on provoking clashes with police, escalating political tensions over demonstrations linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Minns made the remarks during a budget estimates hearing in the NSW parliament while responding to questions about protests held during the recent visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia.
The rally, held near Sydney’s Town Hall in early February, drew hundreds of demonstrators opposing Herzog’s visit and the ongoing war in Gaza. Clashes broke out between protesters and police, with several people arrested and charged with public-order offences.
The confrontation has since become the subject of an investigation by the state’s police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), following allegations of excessive force by officers during the protest.
Speaking at the parliamentary hearing, Minns said he believed many people who attended pro-Palestine demonstrations did so peacefully and were motivated by concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“I genuinely believe that a lot of people have attended those marches with none of those intentions in place,” the premier said.
However, Minns argued that the protests were frequently organised by groups seeking confrontation.
“My dilemma is that those protests are organised by a pack of communists that are just intent on having a confrontation with police,” he said.
The premier also claimed that some demonstrations in Sydney had featured “violent behaviour, terrorist symbols [and] hate speech on Sydney streets,” although he acknowledged that not all participants shared those intentions.
The comments have added to growing political friction around the government’s handling of protests linked to the Israel-Gaza war. Several NSW Labor backbenchers attended the February rally and have expressed concern about the police response.
Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence, who was present at the protest, said many participants were motivated by concern for Palestinian civilians and the broader humanitarian crisis.
He said demonstrators were “generally united by concern about the erasure of the Palestinians”.
Minns rejected suggestions that he personally bore responsibility for the clashes, maintaining that police had been placed in an “impossible situation” by the circumstances surrounding the protest.
The events occurred amid heightened tensions in New South Wales over the regulation of public demonstrations. The Minns government has faced legal challenges and criticism from civil-liberties groups over laws restricting protests in parts of Sydney following security concerns.
Several protesters involved in the Herzog demonstration have indicated they may pursue civil action against police, while the LECC investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
