Police have urged the protesters to gather at a central Sydney park for public safety reasons, but protest organisers said they plan to rally at the city’s historic Town Hall instead.

Police have been authorised to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.

“We’re hoping we won’t have to use any powers, because we’ve been liaising very closely with the protest organisers,” New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told Nine News on Monday.

“Overall, it is all of the community that we want to keep safe … we’ll be there in significant numbers just to make sure that the community is safe.”

About 3,000 police personnel will be deployed across Sydney, Australia’s largest city.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.

He is expected to meet survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the Dec 14 shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”

Herzog’s visit has drawn opposition from pro-Palestine groups, with protests planned in major cities across Australia, and the Palestine Action Group has launched a legal challenge in a Sydney court against restrictions placed on the expected protests.

“A national day of protest will be held today, calling for the arrest and investigation of Isaac Herzog, who has been found by the UN Commission of Inquiry to have incited genocide in Gaza,” the Palestine Action Group said in a statement.

The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation.