Protesters have been pepper sprayed and taken away in handcuffs after a pro-Palestine demonstration descended into violence outside a popular burger joint that burnt down overnight.
Protestors from both sides of the Israel-Palestine debate were seen at Princes Park near the Burgertory restaurant in Caulfield, Melbourne’s south-east, at 7pm on Friday.
Shocking footage showed a huge scuffle kick off between the two groups, with many seen throwing punches as police tried to intervene.
Burgetory’s CEO Hash Tayeh, 32, had asked people not to protest after his restaurant went up in flames.
Victorian Police are investigating the circumstances behind the blaze which they are treating as ‘suspicious’ but do not believe was politically motivated.
Mr Tayeh, who transformed his business into ‘s largest independently-owned burger chain after founding it in 2018, had sparked controversy for leading cries of ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ at a Melbourne rally a fortnight ago.
A pro-Palestine rally descended into chaos in Caulfield in Melbourne on Friday night
Police had to split opposing sides to either side of the street to avoid violence in the Palestine-Israel protest on Friday night
During Friday night’s protest, pro-Palestine supporters and pro-Israel crowds stood on opposite sides of Hawthorn Road hurling abuse at each other
During Friday night’s protest, pro-Palestine supporters and pro-Israel crowds stood on opposite sides of Hawthorn Road hurling abuse at each other.
Both sides were seen draped in Israeli and Palestinian flags, while also shouting from megaphones.
Police had created a line with officers and closed the road in a bid to quell the chaos.
Young male Palestine supporters attempted to run through the police line several times during the protest prompting police to fire pepper spray.
Jewish attendees were evacuated out of a nearby synagogue when the pro-Palestinian group spilled into the park across the road.
Members of the Jewish community had previously been warned to stay away from the burnt-out Burgertory.
Police formed a line of steel in the middle of Hawthorn road to keep the protestors apart but were forced to pepper spray several young men who attempted to break through
Hawthorn Road was closed for hours, haunting traffic and trams as protestors used megaphones to scream above the police and across the street