CANBERRA: More than 20 people have been arrested following a pro-Palestinian protest overnight in a suburb of Sydney, Australian police said on Wednesday.

Approximately 400 people carried out "unauthorised protest activity" at Port Botany Tuesday night and blocked vehicle movement on Foreshore Road, Xinhua news agency quoted the New South Wales Police Force said in a statement.

"After a number of people continued to refuse police direction, 23 people were arrested before all people left the roadway," the statement said.

The protest, organised by the Palestine Justice Movement Sydney, was directed at Israeli shipping company ZIM, which has offered its support to the Israeli government in the Gaza conflict and had a ship at the port on Tuesday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.