Police use tear gas, pepper spray to disperse thousands opposing Herzog\u2019s visit
\n SYDNEY
\nAustralian leaders on Tuesday urged calm and called on protesters to remain peaceful after clashes between police and demonstrators opposing Israeli President Isaac Herzog\u2019s visit to Australia erupted in Sydney.
\nPolice said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for allegedly assaulting officers, after violence broke out on Monday evening when police moved in to clear thousands of protesters who had gathered near Sydney\u2019s town hall.
\nProtesters, including an opposition lawmaker, said on Tuesday they had been assaulted by officers.
\nPrime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was \u201cdevastated\u201d by the violence and urged protesters to express their views peacefully.
\n\u201cAustralians want two things. They don\u2019t want conflict brought here. They want killing to stop, whether it\u2019s Israelis or Palestinians, but they do not want conflict brought here,\u201d Albanese told radio station Triple M.
\n\u201cThe causes are not advanced by these sorts of scenes\u2013they are undermined\u201d.
\nThere were no reports of serious injuries, New South Wales state police said in a statement.
\nThousands gathered in central Sydney on Monday to protest against Herzog\u2019s visit to Australia, which comes after a mass shooting at a Jewish religious event at Bondi Beach in December that killed 15 people.
\nPolice had been authorised to use rarely invoked powers during the protest, including directing crowds to move, restricting their entry to certain areas and searching vehicles. A legal challenge to those restrictions was dismissed by a Sydney court on Monday. Herzog was not present at the protest site.
\nTelevision footage showed some protesters trying to push through blockades as officers forced them back. Some were seen lying on the ground while police tried to restrain them. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
\nNew South Wales state Premier Chris Minns defended police actions, saying officers were required to make rapid decisions in tense and volatile situations, and urged calm.
\n\u201cI understand there\u2019s criticisms of New South Wales Police, I just want to make it clear they were caught in an impossible situation,\u201d he told a press conference.
\nIn a statement, the Palestine Action Group Sydney said protesters were unable to leave the event because they were surrounded by police on all sides.
\n\u201cThe police began charging the crowd with horses, indiscriminately pepper-spraying the crowd, punching and arresting people,\u201d the group said.
\nAbigail Boyd, an opposition Green lawmaker in the state parliament, said she had been punched by officers while attempting to vacate the site.
\n\u201cI have a very sore arm and shoulder where they punched me. I\u2019m really in shock,\u201d she told a press conference.
\nNew South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said police actions were justified and that they showed restraint.
\n\u201cPolice did what they needed to do, which was to hold the line and then form and move the protesters back with a view to dispersing them,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cHaving an angry and violent mob marching on police is not a situation that I want our officers in\u201d.
\nJosh Lees, the head of Palestine Action Group Sydney, said supporters of the group would rally outside police headquarters in the city on Tuesday evening in response to Monday\u2019s clashes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police use tear gas, pepper spray to disperse thousands opposing Herzog\u2019s visit SYDNEY Australian leaders on Tuesday urged calm and called on protesters to remain peaceful after clashes between police and demonstrators opposing Israeli President Isaac Herzog\u2019s visit to Australia erupted in Sydney. Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for allegedly assaulting officers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-530678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n