‘Incredibly Combustible’: Premier Backs Police After Clashes During Israeli Leader’s Visit

‘As difficult as the scenes were to watch, it would have been infinitely worse if NSW Police didn’t do their job last night,’ said NSW Premier Chris Minns.

A mass pro-Palestine protest in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 9, 2026. Cindy Li/The Epoch Times

New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns is standing by police who acted to contain pro-Palestine protests during a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Around 30 protests were held around the nation on Feb. 9, the largest in Sydney, where Herzog was hosted at a 7,000-strong event at the TikTok Entertainment Centre, formerly the International Convention Centre, to commemorate the Dec. 14, 2025 Bondi terror attack.

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame addressed the 50,000-strong protest group, leading a chant, “From Gadigal (Sydney) to Gaza, [and] globalise the intifada.”

Short videos online showed police clashing with demonstrators, spraying some with capsicum spray, and moving protesters on, including a small group of Muslims who abruptly stopped in the middle of the chaos to pray.

Police dragged them away immediately.

Minns said criticism of police actions was unfounded saying prior warning had been given about the protest restrictions.

“It’s worth remembering they did everything possible to avoid that confrontation, starting last week when they begged protest organisers to have it in Hyde Park, where it was safe and a march could take place,” he told Nine News.

“I know that some of the scenes on media are short clips, but people have to understand the circumstances where protesters breached police lines and ran amuck in Sydney would have been devastating.

“What we can say today what we couldn’t say yesterday is that we had 7,000 Jewish mourners in the same city at the same time, and police had to keep those two groups apart.”

Minns also stressed that the situation was “incredibly combustible.”

“And the circumstances that weren’t shown on the news this morning or on TV last night because they didn’t happen is what would have happened if protesters breached police lines,” he said.

“It would have been chaotic and potentially incredibly dangerous. As difficult as the scenes were to watch, it would have been infinitely worse if NSW Police didn’t do their job last night.

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash also defended law enforcement.

“Less than two months after the Bondi Hannukah terror attack that murdered 15 people, Sydney was again confronted with intimidatory, pro-terrorist mobs chanting violent slogans and attacking police,” she said on social media.

“NSW Police were right to step in and take back the streets from these anti-Semitic thugs. Australians have had enough.”

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott thanks police and Minns for his actions.

“It’s about time the police took control of the streets from intimidatory protesters. Well done premier Chris Minns for showing the strength needed against the kind of pro-terrorist protests we’ve seen too often.”

Protest Group Claims Brutality

The activist Palestine Action Group, which organised the Sydney event, condemned the “brutal attack by the NSW Police against a massive peaceful protest against Isaac Herzog.”

“The police, Chris Minns and the whole political establishment should hang their heads in shame for this disgusting attack on democracy and freedom of political expression,” the group said on social media.

Meanwhile, Herzog told Sky News Australia the protesters sought to undermine Israel’s existence.

“These demonstrations, in most cases, what you hear and see comes to undermine and delegitimise our right, my nation’s right—the nation which I am the head of state of,” he said.

Police Arrest 27, Flag Burning

In a statement, the NSW Police Force confirmed that police had issued demonstrators a number of directions to disperse in accordance with the Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (PARD) and Major Events Act.

“When participants failed to comply, officers moved to disperse the crowd, including anyone who had stopped and was blocking pedestrian access,” it said.

“A number of scuffles broke out with 27 people arrested, including 10 for assault police, and are being dealt with by officers.”

Police also stated that a number of protesters were treated by paramedics after capsicum spray was deployed, with no serious injuries reported.

Victoria Police were present at a planned protest in Melbourne, where a 20-year-old woman was arrested after she allegedly burnt two flags, which caused minor damage to a tram stop near the state parliament.

“She was interviewed and released, and is expected to be charged on summons with wilful damage,” a police spokesperson told The Epoch Times.