Over the past eight months, we have witnessed mass massacres and displacement of Palestinians, as well as the devastation and destruction of Gaza, carried out by Israel under the guise of “self-defense.” As the Israeli government continues to disregard its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and end acts of genocide, it is imperative that influential nations take a definitive stand.
Australia, with its global standing and democratic values, is in a strong position to facilitate peace. An important step in this direction would be the recognition of a Palestinian state. It is also a moral and ethical imperative.
On May 29, a motion was presented to the lower house of the Australian parliament by the Greens to vote on whether Australia should follow Spain, Norway, Ireland, Slovenia and the overwhelming majority countries of the world in recognizing a Palestinian state, but it failed. adopted while 80 deputies voted against.
My party, the Australian Labor Party, has always maintained that such motions are political machinations by the Greens aimed at scoring “cheap points” and influencing the public.
Even if that were the case, this “political policy” does not take away from the underlying fact that a genocide is taking place, and the Australian public knows it. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were massacred, including 15,000 children.
Australians saw for themselves the image of seven-year-old Sidra Hassouna hanging from a wall with her legs torn off, and images of a man holding the corpse of 18-month-old Ahmad, decapitated by Israeli bombing. They heard the last words of six-year-old Hind Rajab, desperately calling for help as Israeli tanks closed in on her.
Social media is full of images and videos of children with multiple limb amputations. Entire families have been removed from the register. According to the Euro Med Human Rights Observatory, based in Geneva, more than 70,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Gaza between October 2023 and April 2024.
Australians have read the countless human rights reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and even the Israeli newspaper B’Tselem, describing governance in Israel as akin to “apartheid” and Gaza as an “open-air prison”.
They heard Israeli ministers calling for ethnic cleansing and the occupation of Gaza. They saw the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rule that there is a plausible case of genocide in Gaza. They saw the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes.
France has affirmed its support for the ICC. Sweden did the same. Germany announced it would arrest Netanyahu if the ICC arrest warrant was issued. US Senator Elizabeth Warren said there is ample evidence for international courts to find Israel guilty of genocide.
The famous American professor John Mearsheimer, who came to the Australian Center for Independent Studies, insisted that Israel is choosing between apartheid and ethnic cleansing in its treatment of the Palestinians.
UN experts have said Israel has committed at least three acts of genocide in the past eight months. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese said “Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is an escalating step in a long process of colonial erasure.”
This is why recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders is imperative. Australia’s recognition would be a symbolic and bold rejection of Israel’s current attempt to erase the Palestinian people. Recognition of a Palestinian state would not obstruct the peace process; on the contrary, it would save this peace process and keep it alive.
This is why Ireland, Spain, Norway and Slovenia decided to recognize a Palestinian state. This was not about rejecting or antagonizing Israel. It was about saving the process that Israel is frantically trying to destroy.
Australia must strengthen the fundamental moral principle at the heart of the conflict: the right to self-determination. The Palestinian people, like any other, have the inherent right to govern themselves, to live freely in their own land and to build their future. This right is enshrined in international law, notably in the Charter of the United Nations.
By recognizing a Palestinian state, Australia would affirm its commitment to this universal principle and thwart Israel’s attempt to crush these Palestinian aspirations.
Israel seeks to eliminate the action of the Palestinian people. Australia must stand up to restore and strengthen it. Our country must not become a country that silences voices calling for justice, nor a country that censors the oppressed in search of freedom.
Australian hearts have an affinity for justice. This is why our students across the country are standing up like their predecessors when they denounced the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The students were right about each of these generation-defining conflicts. Will history repeat itself again and we will ignore them again?
In opposition, our Prime Minister and the Labor Party were staunch defenders of Palestine and passionate voices for justice. I ask that we invoke this spirit of old and do the same with power. Let historians write about us that we were on the right side of history, that we boldly strengthened international law, and that we were a beacon and voice for freedom.
It is time to recognize Palestine.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.