Thursday, 16 November 2023

Middle East conflict

Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (10:07): On Tuesday the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Palestine hosted a gathering to commemorate those who have lost their lives at the hands of the Israeli defence force and illegal settlers in Gaza and the West Bank. Many residents of the Thomastown electorate attended this event. We heard reports from men and women who had lost so, so many family members. We heard of grandchildren trapped under rubble whose bodies could never be recovered, entire family lines gone from this earth. We heard about a man who had just returned from Gaza and the horrors he had witnessed. We also heard from some young Australian–Palestinian women, Mia Hammad and Zahala ab Delquada, who spoke of peace but also justice and their concern that racism and aggression have raised their ugly head and are subjecting both the Jewish community and those of our Arab-speaking background to more insecurity and feelings of being very unsafe. There were also so many members of this chamber in attendance to stress their solidarity along with the diversity of community groups, churches, schools, doctors, nurses and artists to express their solidarity and call for a ceasefire, which I also believe in. I find it hard to comprehend how anyone could justify the violence and cruelty being inflicted on the Palestinian people. It looks as if the intent is to wipe out an entire population. As co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, I would also like to thank co-convenor Samantha Ratnam of the other place for all her work on this issue.