Australian leaders urged calm and called for protests to remain peaceful after clashes between police and demonstrators opposing Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia erupted in Sydney on Monday (9 February).
Police 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's town hall.
Protesters including an opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday they had been assaulted by officers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was "devastated" by the violence and urged protesters to express their views peacefully.
"Australians want two things. They don't want conflict brought here. They want killing to stop, whether it's Israelis or Palestinians, but they do not want conflict brought here," Albanese told radio station Triple M.
"The causes are not advanced by these sorts of scenes - they are undermined."
There were no reports of serious injuries, New South Wales state police said in a statement.
Herzog's visit to Australia comes after a mass shooting at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in December that killed 15 people.
Police had been authorised to use rarely invoked powers, including directing crowds to move, restricting their entry to certain areas and searching vehicles.
A legal challenge by orgnaisers, the Palestine Action Group, to those restrictions was dismissed by a Sydney court on Monday.
Herzog was not present at the protest site where thousands had gathered.
Television 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.
New 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.
"I understand there's criticisms of New South Wales Police, I just want to make it clear they were caught in an impossible situation," he told a press conference.
In a statement, the Palestine Action Group Sydney said protesters were unable to leave the event because they were surrounded by police on all sides.
"The police began charging the crowd with horses, indiscriminately pepper spraying the crowd, punching and arresting people," the group said.
Josh 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's clashes.
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