Pro-Palestinian protesters climbed onto the roof of the Australian Parliament.
Three lone protesters were seen carrying out the shocking act, shouting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
After a few minutes of silence, protesters near the main entrance to the courtyard began shouting the same chants.
Their voices were hoarse from shouting in the public courtyard and their faces were covered.
In the moments when there was no shouting, they appeared to use duct tape to keep their banners from flying off the ceiling.
Australian Federal Police officials said they were aware of the developing situation.
Previously, climate change protesters used glue to adhere to the marble in the main lobby.
They shouted: ‘Albanese, blood on your hands! Penny Wong, blood on your hands! Richard Marles, blood on your hands!’
Pro-Palestinian protesters scaled the roof of Australian Parliament
Police sprayed protesters with anti-adhesive.
Moments later, cleaners were working to remove traces of glue from the marble pillars.
Several paper airplanes were torpedoed from the ceiling.
One of them was covered in blood and was thrown from the ceiling to the ground. The front read “war crimes.”
“If we were in Palestine, they would be real bombs, but we only have paper planes,” explained one protester from the roof of Parliament.
The protesters indicated that they would “stay up here a little longer” before continuing down.
They demand to speak to Anthony Albanese or Penny Wong.
Protesters chant: ‘One, two, three, fuck the ALP! Four, five, six, fuck the ALP!’ and shout: ‘All Zionists are terrorists.’
One protester threw a paper plane from the roof further than the rest and was congratulated by the lead protester for a good throw.
The protest involved a major security breach and it is unclear how the demonstrators managed to climb onto the roof of Parliament.
The protest comes on the last day of sittings of federal parliament before its five-week recess.
A protester accused the Albanian government of being complicit in the genocide of Palestinians and Australian Aborigines.
The protester denounced Australia for its involvement in the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars.
Federal MP Keith Pitt said at the scene of the protest: “It is important that all political parties ensure that they do not encourage others to take these risks.”
“We are an Australian government, we support the right to protest, but you cannot put yourself in danger.”
“I’ve seen this happen once before, we included additional fencing… this would have required a lot of organisation,” Pitt said.
Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham criticised the protesters.
“We defend freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.”
“But that needs to be done in a way that doesn’t put other people at risk or create massive inconvenience for other Australians,” Birmingham said.
‘Many Australians have found themselves stuck in hour-long traffic jams as extremist protesters have become stuck on the roads.’
Protesters unfurled banners from the roof of Parliament.
One says “WAR CRIMES,” another says “No peace on stolen lands, genocide since 1788.”
A third banner read: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
At approximately 11.15am, the Australian coat of arms banners began to be removed.
The protesters then had to make their way through metal beams, between large strips of glass, to be able to get down from the roof.
A police statement given to the ABC said: ‘ACT Police and AFP Protective Service officers are responding to protest activity at Parliament House.’
‘Protesters inside the building have been evacuated, however a small number of people remain in unsafe locations in front of the building.’
“No arrests have been made at this time. Further updates will be provided later today.”
more to come
