Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as Adolf Hitler by protesters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was depicted by pro-Palestinian protesters as Adolf Hitler. Hundreds of demonstrators came together on Thursday evening to express their anger at the Australian visit of Netanyahu.

Protesters were carrying a poster depicting the Israeli prime minister as Hitler while others carried placards branding him as a “war criminal” and “terrorist” per the Jerusalem Post. Photographs of the prime minister were painted with Hitler-esque moustache. Those who were against Netanyahu’s visit have also criticised the Australian government’s strong ties with Israel.

Sydney’s Palestine Action Group, a Sydney-based activist organisation committed to supporting the Palestine, is the organiser of the protests. The group has earlier claimed that Netanyahu is a war criminal and slammed the administration of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for his “continued support for Israel’s illegal occupation and war crimes against the Palestinian people.”

Randa Abdel-Fattah, a pro-Palestinian author and Australian lawyer, told AFP that they oppose the country’s support to Israel and that it feels disgusting for them to see some Australian leaders welcoming a “war criminal” in a red carpet. “It’s disgusting to see that some of our Australian leaders have rolled out the red carpet and welcomed a war criminal into Australia,” Abdel-Fattah said.

At a press conference, Turnbull said Netanyahu is very much welcome in the Land Down Under. “We have so much in common- shared values, democracy, freedom, the rule of law,” the Australian prime minister said.

Netanyahu has previously stressed that Israel could not abide a Palestinian state that refused to recognise the country’s right to exist. In connection to this, he reprimanded former Australian Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd’s calls for Australia to recognise a Palestinian state. “I ask both former prime ministers to ask a simple question: what kind of state will it be that they are advocating? A state that calls for Israel’s destruction? A state whose territory will be used immediately for radical Islam?” Netanyahu exclaimed.

The Israeli prime minister said at a media conference at Sydney’s Kirribilli House that his country could only accept a Palestinian state over which Israel had “overriding security control of all the territories”. Netanyahu wants the Palestinians to be able to govern themselves and assured that they have all the freedom to do so, but not the privilege to destroy the Jewish state. Netanyahu is the first serving Israeli leader to visit Australia in the history of Israel.