NSW Police have launched legal action to oppose about 10,000 pro-Palestine protesters from marching to the steps of the Opera House.

The Palestine Action Group has applied to hold a protest from Hyde Park to the Opera House on October 12 to mark the second anniversary of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza after Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023.

Today, NSW Police has lodged an action at the Supreme Court to knock down the demonstration, citing public safety concerns.

“I’ve instructed the Office of General Counsel to lodge this matter in the Supreme Court, objecting to this particular public assembly at the Opera House,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told reporters this afternoon.

McKenna stressed police were not “anti-protest”.

He said the Opera House cannot facilitate 10,000 people, and feared the actual number of attendees on the day could be even greater.

“It’s not a matter of us not wanting them to have a public assembly. It’s not even a matter about it being at the Opera House itself. It’s about public safety,” he said.

“The Opera House has its own DA and engineering requirements, which says that they cannot facilitate the amount of people that the form one has indicated are likely to attend.

“They have to have an ability in an emergency to get people out of that location safely”.

NSW Police previously tried to oppose the group’s protest across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the Supreme Court in August, but lost their case and were forced to make last-minute preparations to facilitate a historic crowd of between 100,000 to 300,000 to march across the landmark.

McKenna defended today’s court action despite their previous setback. 

“Every case has its own merits in the Supreme Court, and every time we go there, we are looking at the particulars of the case in front of us,” he said.

“The Sydney Harbour Bridge can take a lot more people than the forecourt of the Opera House.”

McKenna said NSW Police is still in discussions with the Palestine Action Group to negotiate an alternative route, but organisers have already promoted the protest on social media. 

Palestine Action Group is telling protesters to join them for their “next massive mobilisation” to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza. 

“On 12 October 2025, the Palestine Action Group will march on the Sydney Opera House, joining cities and towns across Australia to demand immediate sanctions on Israel and an end to the arms trade,” the group said on social media.

“The people of this country are united in saying: enough is enough.”

A pro-Palestine protest turned what police described as “violent and racist” at the Opera House forecourt in October 2023, after the landmark was lit up for Israel following Hamas’ terror attack.

The site has been used to protest against wars in the past.

In 2003, hundreds gathered and emblazoned “no war” on the sails to protest the Howard government’s involvement in the Iraq war.