Protests expected on Israeli President Herzog's last stop in Australia

Pro-Palestine protesters will rally in Melbourne on the final day of Israeli President Isaac Herzog's trip to Australia, following protests in the capital Canberra and violent clashes between protesters and police in Sydney.



Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian ⁠Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi beach that killed 15.



The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza.



Protesters cite a United Nations Commission of Inquiry that last year concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Herzog incited these acts - accusations that Israel called scandalous.



"Our message to all Australians is simple: the time to march is now. For all the Palestinians who have been killed, for all those still alive but starving," said Jasmine Duff, a co-convener of Students for Palestine, a group planning to protest outside one of Melbourne's main railway stations on Thursday evening.



Graffiti that appeared on a Melbourne University campus calling for the death of Herzog has been referred to the police.



There is no indication the graffiti was connected to the planned protests.



Herzog, who has also visited Sydney and Canberra on the four-day trip, said on Thursday there was "frightening" antisemitism in Australia.