Arrernte Traditional Owners and local community members this week held a vigil, smoking ceremony and press conference in Mparntwe/Alice Springs on International Human Rights Day. 

The vigil coincides with a court hearing against two people contesting charges for blockading the joint United States-Australian satellite surveillance and intelligence base known as 'Pine Gap', situated 20kms outside of Alice Springs, in November 2023. Approximately fifty community members blockaded access to the military base for its alleged link in the genocide against Palestinians. The court hearing has been postponed due to late evidence presented by the prosecution.

Expert evidence from Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Richard Tanter (Senior Research Associate, Nautilus Institute), and Nasser Mashni, President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, regarding Pine Gap's role in the genocide of Palestinians will be presented to the court during the hearing.

Several Arrernte Traditional Owners have asserted the need for the Australian Government to end ties with the US and Israel during this week's vigil. 

A spokesperson for the November blockade, Central Arrernte writer, activist, and artist, Declan Furber Gillick, speaks with Kate from The Big Brekky.

At the time of the November 2023 protest, 15,000 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli Occupying Forces. A year later, the current estimate exceeds 220,000 Palestinian people - half of these being children.