Around 100 residents from Alice Springs gathered near the road to Pine Gap, holding placards and banners in the red dust and dry scrub, calling for the closure of the facility and the return of the land to its traditional owners.
The demonstration, organized by Mparntwe for Palestine, followed their regular Sunday protest. The group criticized the Prime Minister’s upcoming recognition of Palestine as “performative,” expressing fears that intelligence collected at Pine Gap may be aiding Israeli military operations in Gaza.
“The machinery of war on Arrernte country supports the Israeli military as it bombs hospitals, murders journalists, starves children and civilians and erases entire neighbourhoods,” protesters said in a statement read aloud during the gathering.
The group has maintained a presence near the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap since the outbreak of violence following Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023. Israel has defended its actions as consistent with international law.
With permission from traditional owners, demonstrators stood just metres from Pine Gap’s perimeter fence, near the turn-off to an Arrernte sacred site that borders the facility.
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