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27 Arrested as Sydney Police Use Pepper Spray and Tear Gas in Clashes Over Herzog Visit

The confrontations followed a court ruling upholding protest restrictions under expanded “major event” powers during the Israeli president’s condolence trip after the Bondi Beach massacre.

Overview

  • New South Wales Police reported 27 arrests, including 10 for assaulting officers, as crowd-control agents were used to stop protesters from entering a restricted area near Town Hall.
  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was devastated by the scenes and urged peaceful demonstrations, while senior police figures defended their tactics as justified.
  • Human-rights groups and some politicians condemned the operation and pressed for independent scrutiny of alleged excessive force, pointing to footage of officers pushing praying men and media being sprayed.
  • A Sydney court earlier rejected the Palestine Action Group’s challenge to march limits after the state designated the visit a major event that expanded police powers to direct and disperse crowds.
  • Isaac Herzog laid a wreath at Bondi Beach, met families of the 15 people killed, and is continuing engagements in Melbourne and Canberra as nationwide rallies cite a UN inquiry’s finding that he incited genocide, a claim Israel rejects.