NSW Premier Chris Minns has refused to condemn the “brutal” actions of police who broke up a pro-Palestine protest that left a one-time federal Greens candidate with an eye injury.

Hannah Thomas was among five people arrested while protesting Israel’s war in Gaza on Friday outside an Australian business reportedly linked to the manufacturing of components for fighter jets used by the Israeli Defence Force.

NSW Police face questions over their actions after Thomas said their intervention could result in permanent vision loss in her right eye.

“I’m five-foot-one (155 centimetres), I weigh about 45 kilograms, I was engaged in peaceful protest,” the 35-year-old said in a social media post from her hospital bed.

“I’m in this position because people like Chris Minns and [NSW Police Minister] Yasmin Catley have demonised protesters and passed draconian anti-protest laws which license police to crack down on peaceful protest in extremely violent, brutal ways.”

While expressing sympathy for Thomas, Minns refused to criticise police conduct until there was further information, saying that enforcing the law while allowing freedom of political expression was a delicate balance.

“From the police’s perspective, I’m certainly not prepared to condemn them in these circumstances when we haven’t gotten to the bottom of the situation,” he said on Monday.

“You’re entitled to protest, but businesses in NSW are entitled to run their companies as well.”

The protesters accused SEC Plating, in south-west Sydney, of making parts for F-35 jets used by Israel, a claim the company denies.

Minns denied police had used controversial protest laws passed in February to move on the demonstrators on Friday morning, as claimed by Greens MPs, or that the laws had emboldened the police force when it came to managing demonstrations.

NSW Police said the protest at SEC Plating was unauthorised and blocked access to the Belmore business.

It defended the lack of an investigation into police actions at the protest, saying officers had tried at least four times to get further information from Thomas without success.

“I am comfortable based on the information provided to me that I did not declare the matter a critical incident,” Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden told Sydney radio 2GB on Monday.

Thomas, who ran second to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the inner-west Sydney seat of Grayndler in May’s federal election, was charged on Sunday with hinder or resist police and refuse/fail to comply with directions to disperse.

A video of the incident showed police dragging one of the protesters as onlookers repeatedly shouted “get off her” and “let go of her”.

NSW Police said “a scuffle ensued between police and protesters” during attempts to arrest the protesters for not complying with move-on directions.

Thomas will appear at Bankstown Local Court in August.

Footage of Thomas circulating online showed her eye swollen shut and with blood on her face before she was taken to hospital.

NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson labelled the policing “excessive” and has written to Catley, the NSW police commissioner and the state’s police watchdog demanding an investigation.

Protest organisers say another protester was grabbed by the neck and choked, while others were knocked to the ground.

Minns said the lack of a critical incident declaration would not stop the police watchdog from stepping in if it saw fit.

All five protesters arrested during the scuffle were granted bail. the other four will appear in Bankstown Local Court on July 15.

-with AAP