Politicians who attended Monday night’s chaotic rally have accused NSW Police of “excessive force” and “brutality” as Premier Chris Minns comes under fire for “bringing Trump’s America to Sydney”.

Demonstrators were pepper sprayed, arrested, beaten and shoved by police as they gathered at Sydney Town Hall to protest Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s arrival earlier that day.

On Tuesday, Minns defended officers’ actions as “proportionate” and said they were dealing with an “impossible situation”.

Nine people were charged with assault and public order offences, such as assaulting police, behaving offensively and resisting arrest.

NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd said she was considering legal action after she was punched and thrown by three officers and suffered a neck injury.

Boyd told the ABC she was standing on steps and taking video of the protest when some officers came over and attacked her.

“I told them I was a member of parliament and that I was recording things for accountability purposes,” she said.

“I got lifted off of the ground, thrown into somebody else, and then when I was trying to rebalance myself, I got punched in the head, and then another police officer punched me in the shoulder. This was completely disproportionate.

“They knew I was a member of parliament. I’ve made it really clear — and I was just observing.”

Boyd said police cornered protesters into a confined area and began “pre-emptively” running horses at them and pushing people into an “unsafe situation”.

“We weren’t allowed to leave. There was no exit. And I’ve got footage that very clearly shows the police blocking all available exits.

“I’ve never seen anything so brutal in my life. This is not Sydney. Like, this is a very strange place to wake up in this morning.”

Another NSW Greens MP, Jenny Leong, said the handling of protesters was “extreme police brutality”.

“We saw two or three lines of police running and chasing terrified community members as they bolted down Bathurst Street, coughing and spluttering, being sprayed by police,” she said.

“What more context do you need to see that this was excessive police force and extreme police brutality?”

One video shared on social media shows a group of Muslim men praying before being ripped from their knees and taken away by police. Another shows a man with raised hands being repeatedly punched in the stomach by police.

The president of the Australian National Imams Council said the violent actions of police officers while worshippers were in the middle of evening prayers was unwarranted.

“We are appalled and outraged … the conduct of the NSW Police represents a breach of religious sanctity,” Shadi Asuleiman told reporters on Tuesday.

“It is deeply distressing, unacceptable and not reflective of the Australia that we know, the values we claim to uphold.”

Minns said the full context should be taken into account, as he defended relations between authorities and the Muslim community.

“The truth of the matter is, NSW Police have had a strong and co-operative relationship with Sydney’s Islamic and Arabic community, going back decades,” he said on Tuesday.

“But context is important and the circumstances facing NSW police was incredibly difficult. It was in effect in the middle of a riot.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the police faced an “aggressive crowd” and their response would be reviewed.

Minns also took aim Labor MPs who attended the rally, vowing not to change his political agenda as he called out some speakers for attempting to march despite police restrictions.

Labor MP Sarah Kaine, who spoke at the rally, rejected Minns’ implication that representatives were trying to whip up protesters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the scuffles that broke out were disheartening, but he emphasised that police had been clear prior to the rally about its geographic limits.

“I’m devastated by these scenes, these are really scenes that I think shouldn’t be taking place,” he told radio station Triple M.

In parliament later, Albanese said it was time to “turn the temperature down” on Herzog’s visit, which was “primarily to provide support for people who not only need it, but deserve it”.

“And I will not, as a number of the crossbenchers have suggested, walk away from my support for his presence,” Albanese said.

“President Herzog is here in Australia to offer sympathy and solidarity to people who are mourning and offer his support to members of Australia’s Jewish community.

“He has said – to quote him – that his visit is ‘in the spirit of solidarity, friendship and love’. There’s not enough of that anywhere in the world, not the least here in the past couple of months.”

He said footage from Monday’s Sydney protest last night would have been confronting to “all Australians”.

“I note that the NSW Police have said they will examine the footage which was taken last night, including, I note that many people who saw the footage, particularly of the people who were praying, and then action was taken will want to know all of the circumstances around that,” he said.

Palestine Action Group spokesperson Josh Lees likened the violence to the attacks on US citizens by ICE.

“Chris Minns is seemingly trying to bring a bit of Donald Trump’s America to Sydney,” Lees said.

“That cannot be allowed. We will not stand for it.”

Organisers had hoped to march through the Sydney city centre, but a last-minute court decision upheld the police’s ability to restrict protests and scuppered plans.

As the Town Hall demonstration drew to an end, protesters moved towards an opening in the police cordon, with some trying to leave and others calling on the hundreds of surrounding officers to let them march.

Officers restricted movement along most of the square’s mouth, forcing the large group into a gridlock as protesters’ chants grew louder and the police presence swelled.

Police issued a move-on order but the situation escalated as the densely packed crowd struggled to leave before officers rushed at protesters in an attempt to disperse the group.

Community worker Dr Paula Abood said she was assaulted by police twice while trying to aid other rally-goers who were being hit.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my 40 years of marching the streets of Sydney,” she said.

Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting officers.

Albanese invited Herzog, whose prior comments a UN inquiry found might reasonably have been interpreted as inciting genocide against Palestinians, to Australia after December’s Bondi massacre.

He visited the scene of the terror attack on Monday and was to attend more community events on Tuesday.

Asked on Monday, if he had a message to protesters, Herzog said the demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” Israel’s existence.

-with AAP