A Labor senator, who broke ranks with her party and declared Israel's violence in Gaza is a "genocide", will address a pro-Palestine rally as community tensions simmer.
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Fatima Payman will address a rally in Perth on Saturday weeks after she made her explosive statement and urged the prime minister to brand Israel's actions a "genocide".
The protesters will call on the government to impose an arms embargo on Israel and expel its ambassador, Friends of Palestine WA chairperson Nick Everett said.
"Senator Fatima Payman is the first Labor federal parliamentarian to break ranks with the Albanese government and call for sanctions against Israel," he said in an emailed statement.
"We urge other Labor parliamentarians with a conscience to join us and condemn this genocide too."
The police-approved protest will assemble in Forest Place in central Perth at 12 noon local time and march around adjacent city blocks with about 500 people expected to attend.
Mr Everett said the group had organised around 30 marches in the past few months and there had been no violence or arrests at any of them.
"Our protests are peaceful, opposed to racism in all its forms and we strongly reject any accusations of anti-Semitism," he said.
After Senator Payman made her declaration in mid-May, Labor voted with the Coalition in the Senate to condemn the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" - which she used during her press conference.
She has since stepped down from two parliamentary foreign affairs committees and quit an internal party committee but she continues advocating for Palestinian civilians on social media.
Her office has been contacted for comment.
In other action on Saturday, Palestinian supporters will march on the Melbourne office of federal Labor MP Peter Khalil, calling on him to do more to stop the violence in Gaza.
Local healthcare worker Linda Karafili, who will speak at the protest, said she was horrified at the unrestrained assault on Gaza's healthcare facilities and on healthcare workers.
On Sunday, further action will be held in Sydney after a week of parliamentary finger pointing over who is to blame for the community unrest that has rippled out from the Middle East.
Labor MPs' offices have been the target of graffiti and blockades with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and others having their electoral shopfronts vandalised.
The major parties have united to blame the Greens, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accusing them of "inflaming tensions".
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the attacks on offices were "disgraceful" and fanned by the Greens.
But the minor party maintained it did not condone property damage and instead supported peaceful protest.
Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1200 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
In response, Israel launched air strikes and a ground invasion of Gaza that, according to the local health ministry, has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, injured more than 80,000 and displaced more than 1.7 million.
Australian Associated Press
