Canberra students left school at 1pm to join kids from Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide in a nationwide march supporting Palestine. High schoolers, university and TAFE students were invited to join the December 7 march. "We're expecting hundreds if not thousands to attend," 17-year-old strike organiser Kaab Qureshi said. Mr Qureshi said he "loved going to school" and did not relish the day out of the classroom. "Education is extremely important and not something we want to miss out on but if our education has taught us one thing it is that we should always stand against injustice, no matter where it is occurring in the world," he said. Mr Qureshi said parents had reached out to him "emphasising how happy they were this is happening". Mr Qureshi said the protesters planned to meet at Garema Place to hear first-person accounts of the war in Palestine. The march was expected to follow the same route as past pro-Palestine protests with one exception. Mr Qureshi has diverted the march to skip a Jewish-owned gelato shop, Anita, which was vandalised in past protests. "We have first aid staff, safety marshals and we're complying with everything police are telling us," he said. "At the end of the day, this is a joint push and if we treat others with respect we're hoping to get respect back." Students for Palestine said the marches will continue until their demands, endorsed by Australia's Palestine solidarity groups, are met. These demands include "Israel ending its genocide in Gaza - stop the bombing, withdraw from the strip, and lift the siege". "Israel must release all Palestinian political prisoners," the demands continued. "Israel must end the occupation of all Palestinian territory. "Palestinian refugees must have the right to return to their homeland. "The Australian government should cut all political, economic and military ties with Israel until these demands are met."
