Launching a new police operation targeting protest activity regarding events in the Middle East,Acting Commissioner David Hudson discouraged people from attending the planned event on Sunday. However,he noted NSW Police could not stop people gathering in public places.

He said attendees would meet a large police contingent,who would “take action” if it escalated into an unauthorised protest. “We can’t stop a thousand people meeting in one spot,it depends on their behaviour once they get there,” Hudson said.

Even a stationary gathering at Town Hall could be judged to fall foul of new anti-protest laws introduced by the former Coalition government with Labor’s support. The Roads Act prohibits seriously disrupting or obstructing major roads,while the Crimes Act criminalises conduct that “seriously disrupts or obstructs” access to major facilities.

The latter is subject to an ongoing Supreme Court challenge brought by climate change activists who shut down operations at Port Botany last year. It follows a series of moves to crack down on protests in NSW,including a failed attempt to stop a Black Lives Matter rally during pandemic restrictions in 2020.

On Wednesday,Minns said the organisers of Monday’s protest had already proven they were “not peaceful” because of the racial obscenities chanted by some attendees. Organisers claim the anti-Semitic chants came from a small minority who hijacked the rally.

“This was not a peaceful protest … The idea that they’re going to commandeer Sydney streets is not going to happen,” Minns said. Celebrating Hamas’ murder and kidnapping of Israeli civilians was beyond the pale,he said.

“We live in a dynamic,multi-faith,multicultural community … That doesn’t mean that when you’ve got international incidents that Australia doesn’t have values any more. If this isn’t wrong,nothing is wrong.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief executive Alex Ryvchin praised the premier’s apology on Wednesday.

“[Minns] didn’t need to accept blame,he could have shifted it to ministers or bureaucrats,but he took full responsibility as premier and apologised without reservation,which means a great deal,” he said.

But lawyers and civil liberties groups are deeply concerned by a range of remarks by government members advocating restrictions on protests. In an open letter to Minns,the NSW Council for Civil Liberties was joined by Amnesty International Australia,the Human Rights Law Centre and the NSW National Tertiary Education Union in calling on the premier to affirm his government’s support for the right to protest.

“The right to protest has already been eroded enough in this state and politicians should not be given licence to erode it further,” the letter said.

Barrister Greg Barns,who represents the Australian Lawyers Alliance on human rights and free speech matters,noted rallies of all types could be hijacked by unsavoury or criminal groups and individuals,but restrictions on demonstrations ought to be narrowly drawn.

“The better approach is not to interfere with the right to protest but use existing laws to prosecute those who incite racial hatred or advocate or assist terrorist organisations,” he said. “Those cases ought to be prosecuted with vigour.”

Meanwhile,a 23-year-old man has been arrested by police after allegedly verbally threatening four teenagers over an Israeli flag in Sydney’s east on Monday afternoon.

The arrest came after footage circulated of an altercation between a man wearing a hi-vis vest and four boys,who had draped their car in an Israeli flag at Bellevue Hill.

In the video,the man tells them to put the flag back in their car and says:“I swear if I f---ing see you with that flag I’ll f---ing kill you all.”

Police said they launched an investigation into the incident before a man attended Liverpool Police Station,where he was arrested. He is now assisting police with their investigation.

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