Tuesday, 14 November 2023

Middle East conflict

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (13:33): Many of us from this house and the other place attended a vigil this morning in Parliament House organised by the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine to honour the lives lost in the unfolding war and to call for peace. Hundreds of thousands of Australians and millions around the world are also calling for peace. Civilians are paying the ultimate brutal price of war. The stories coming out of Gaza are horrendous: the targeting of hospitals and refugee camps and the continuing siege with so little food, water, fuel, health care and aid entering Gaza when they are so desperately needed. UN experts are warning of the risk of genocide. Nothing justifies the collective punishment being meted out. It is time to stop the killing, for an immediate ceasefire, for the unconditional release of hostages and for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories. It is time for peace.

While we are hurting and while our communities are hurting, there is no place for antisemitism or Islamophobia in our community. There is no place for hatred in a movement for peace. We must always act with kindness and not turn on each other. What we saw on the weekend is a movement that is rising because there are so many of us who may have been children of war or colonisation; who may have experienced weak leaders turning to brutality and suppression to maintain power, status and wealth; who may have been subjected to racism or denial of our rights; who are tired of being told that it is too complex to fix. We see through the hollow words of our so-called leaders, their equivocations and weasel words. We see through their cowardice and demand more. Together we are growing the movement for peace.