Myer cancels unveiling of Christmas windows in response to ...

A pro-Palestinian protest outside the Myer windows "will not go ahead" after the department store cancelled Sunday's official unveiling of its popular Christmas display due to the planned disruption.

The famous Christmas windows attract big crowds each year, with the annual unveiling marked on the calendar for many families.

Pro-Palestinian group Disrupt Wars promoted the protest in a social media post.

"Christmas is cancelled, and there will be no joy or frivolity while children in Gaza are massacred," the group said.

Disrupt Wars encouraged protesters to "bring flags, placards, banners, props, noisemakers, and lots of energy ... to interrupt the Christmas windows reveal at Myer and inconvenience those who would rather bury their heads in the capitalist machine than speak up against a genocide".

But a person claiming to be the organiser of the protest said the planned disruption "will not go ahead" now that Myer has cancelled the window reveal.

"This protest was always going to be peaceful and non-violent. The intention was to interrupt the media spectacle and economic gain sought by Myer," they said in a statement.

"The children coming to see the Myer Christmas windows were never a target, because children are not a target."

The Myer Christmas window display unveiling was last disrupted by COVID restrictions.  (ABC News: Billy Draper)

Myer said the event was cancelled "in light of recent developments".

"To ensure the wellbeing and safety of customers and team members, we will no longer hold an event on Bourke Street Mall for the unveiling of our Christmas windows," Myer said in a statement.

"Myer's Christmas windows have long symbolised joy and community, and we remain committed to providing a safe and positive experience for all visitors."

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen condemned the protest.

"I'm just furious that a really small group of people have not only chosen to politicise what is a beautiful event for children and for our community … (but to) use it to try and divide us," she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"We can't let these sorts of ugly protests ruin these beautiful Christmas traditions.

"We would all love the conflict in the Middle East to be over … we can't let that division, that conflict overseas cause greater division here in our beautiful city. It's just not on."

Recently re-elected Melbourne lord mayor Nick Reece told ABC Radio Melbourne the protesters were "ruining Christmas for the rest of us".

Senior opposition MP Georgie Crozier said it was an "incredibly disappointing" situation.

"These activists - they're not protesters, they're activists - want to be so miserable, and are doing this to our families that enjoy the Myer windows that happen every year," she said.

Ms Crozier said the Victorian government had been "impotent dealing with these activists for many months" and that the opposition was calling for the reinstatement of "move on" powers to Victoria Police.

The proposal would grant police and courts greater powers to penalise people for protesting.

President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network Nasser Mashni, who is one of the regular organisers of peaceful Sunday protests in Melbourne, defended the right to protest following the political backlash.

"We're waking up to images that make our bones shiver. There is a member of the Australian-Palestinian community, a citizen, who's lost 148 members of her family," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"I'm not going to say to anyone that is witnessing what we're witnessing that they should not avail themselves of their democratic right … to raise the conversation for people to see what is going on.

"What we are seeing, the largest cohort of children with amputations in world history … no Palestinian child has been to school in 404 days."

Victoria Police said it had "repeatedly requested" protesters not disrupt the event.

"The Myer Christmas Windows are an important tradition in Melbourne's calendar, with families from across Victoria coming into the city to see them.

"While we always respect the right for people to protest peacefully, we are clear that this should be done without impacting the broader community."

Victoria Police said it would have a visible presence on Sunday and would "continue to attempt to engage with the group in question".

Police said they had not recommended to Myer it cancel the event. 

"Any decision to cancel the event sits with Myer," Victoria Police said.

A separate rally planned for later on Sunday changed its usual route due to the Christmas windows event, police said.

The Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), a Jewish community group, said protesters were sowing anger and division by organising the event.

"We cannot let the forces of division and fear steal the joy and wonder of this season. These windows are sacred; they belong to our children, our families, our community," ADC chairman Dvir Abramovich said.