
Pro-Palestine protesters scaled the roof of the Australian Parliament House in the capital Canberra on Thursday (July 4). Carrying banners that said "Palestine will be free", the protesters accused Israel of war crimes.
The serious security breach was condemned by lawmakers, who have called for an investigation.
According to AFP reportsfour people dressed in black climbed onto the parliament building roof. They stood there for about an hour, and unfurled banners, one of which read "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".
One of them used a megaphone to give a rallying speech that accused Israel of war crimes, a charge the warring nation continues to reject resolutely.
"We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will continue to resist," said the protester.
The protesters were led away by the police around 11:30 am local time (0130 GMT). Till then, people were advised by police and security to avoid walking directly under the protest at the building's main entrance.
Taking to social media platform X, opposition Home Affairs spokesperson James Paterson in a post called the protest a "serious breach of the Parliament's security."
"The building was modified at great expense to prevent incursions like this," he said, adding, "An investigation is required".
In the eight months of the Israel-Hamas war, Australia has been the site of many pro-Palestine protests. While the nation currently does not recognise Palestinian statehood, in May, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the nation could do so before a formal peace process between Israel and Palestinian authorities was complete.
A United Nations inquiry last month found that both Israel and Hamas were guilty of committing war crimes in the early stages of the war that started on Oct 7 of last year. The inquiry said that Tel Aviv's crimes also constituted crimes against humanity due to the immense civilian losses.
(With inputs from agencies)