Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In the 60 years that have passed since 1948 the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has continued to shape the outlook, animosities and aspirations of successive generations of both Palestinians and Israelis. For Israelis, 1948 is celebrated as the year in which Israel was established, following a war of independence in which Jewish courage, determination and resilience were to triumph against overwhelming odds. The full significance of 1948 for Israelis is measured against the backdrop of centuries of Jewish persecution in the heartlands of Europe. Israel is not only seen as a return to the Promised Land; it also holds the promise of security. As the founder of modern-day Zionism, Theodore Herzl, argued, only self-determination and statehood can guarantee that past horrors are never repeated.

In contrast, Palestinians refer to 1948 as the year of the Nakba, or catastrophe, when the majority of Palestine’s indigenous Arab population lost their land and homes and were forced into exile. It is in this context that Palestinians lay claim to the right of return for Palestinian refugees and it is against the backdrop of their historical claims to Palestine that Palestinians seek the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

These two competing national narratives of Israeli independence and statehood versus Palestinian dispossession and exile are inextricably linked, and I raise them here today because 1948 remains at the very heart of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. I have spoken about the importance of 1948 before in this chamber, and I would refer those interested to a speech I made on 17 March this year. Suffice to say that, in its support for peace, this motion by definition speaks to both of these histories.

The June war of 1967 and Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza were to fundamentally change the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel justifies the occupation as a defensive measure against continuing Palestinian violence. Palestinians see Israel’s refusal to end its occupation as a deliberate attempt to thwart Palestinian aspirations for statehood and self-determination. Whichever of the two you accept, the reality is that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has continued to exact an enormous toll in human life on both sides.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in the six months leading up to and including July 2008, 29 Israelis were killed, four of whom were children, and a further 251 Israelis were injured. It is estimated that well over 2,000 rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel since the beginning of 2008 alone, terrorising the civilian population who live within their reach. Israelis still live with the very real threat of suicide bombings, for which Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been largely responsible. The continued indiscriminate targeting of innocent Israeli civilians must and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

For Palestinians the conflict has been much deadlier and far more devastating. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs puts the number of Palestinians killed in the six-month period leading up to and including July 2008 at 435 individuals. This compares with 396 Palestinians killed in the whole of 2007. Of the 435 Palestinians killed, 76 were children. In the same six-month period a further 1,628 Palestinians were injured. Palestinians live with the daily threat of Israeli military incursions and they continue to bear the overwhelming brunt of this conflict in terms of numbers killed and injured.

The occupation has also had a devastating effect on Palestinian economic and social life. Between January and July 2008 Palestinians were under curfew for a combined total of 1,050 hours. Continuing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians as a result of Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks, the impact of Israel’s separation wall that cuts through parts of the West Bank, periodic house demolitions and the expansion of Israeli settlements all undermine any possibility of normality or security for Palestinians and severely disrupt Palestinian economic and social life.

The looming humanitarian crisis that many warn of in the occupied territories is most acute in Gaza. This is especially the case following Israel’s decision to further restrict cross-border traffic for both goods and people into and out of the Gaza Strip after the violent takeover of Gaza by Hamas in June 2007. The virtual closure of Gaza’s borders has seen the price of imported commodities increase in a region where three-quarters of Gaza’s population depend to some extent on food aid and over half of all households live in poverty. Border closures have also led to severe shortages in fuel, water and medical supplies in Gaza, leading Christian Aid and many other NGOs to warn of an impending humanitarian implosion.

The strongest criticism of Israel’s decision to close Gaza’s major crossing points and restrict the movement of humanitarian aid has come from the United Nations. In January this year the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights referred to the border closures as a form of collective punishment, a charge that was again echoed in March by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. It is within this context that the sense of urgency currently underwriting the need for peace and a lasting resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict becomes apparent.

Since 1993 and the signing of the Oslo accords, there have been a number of initiatives aimed at achieving a negotiated settlement between Palestinians and Israelis. Whilst a final peace agreement has remained elusive, I believe these initiatives give us cause for hope, if only for the way that they continue to position Palestine and Israel at the forefront of international debate. The Saudi peace plan first announced by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah in 2002 and later endorsed by Arab governments during a meeting of the Arab League Summit in Beirut in 2003 is one such initiative. The plan included an offer by all Arab states to normalise their diplomatic relations with Israel, including recognising Israel’s right to exist as well as the integrity of its borders in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from all the territories it seized in 1967.

More recently, the Annapolis peace conference hosted by the United States in November 2007 offered the first real sign of a return to negotiations since 2001. During the conference both sides gave a commitment to implement their respective obligations under the 2003 road map and to resolve all outstanding issues, including all core issues, without exception.

Whilst it is important that we continue to support diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is equally important that we learn from those mistakes on which past negotiations have faltered and ultimately failed. If the failure of the Oslo accords has taught us anything, it is that the peace process cannot succeed without both parties reaching agreement on final status issues, including the status of Jerusalem, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, settlement, security, borders and water. And there can be no lasting settlement without both Israel and Palestine recognising each other’s right to exist within mutually agreed upon and secure borders.

Despite a succession of new interim agreements, timetables and promises made since the signing of the Oslo accords, the key factors that fuel this conflict remain essentially the same. Since 1993, Israel has continued to expand its settlements in the West Bank, in contravention of both international law and a host of negotiated agreements and accords. The current route taken by Israel’s separation wall cuts through Palestinian towns and farmland, effectively annexing nine per cent of the West Bank and undermining the very idea of land for peace. The daily reality of occupation continues to fragment and frustrate Palestinian life. There has been no measurable improvement in the conditions under which Palestinians live. If anything, life has become worse, creating an environment in which the sense of hope that the Oslo accords once inspired has been replaced by anger and cynicism.

On the other hand, the repeated failure of the Palestinian Authority to halt rocket attacks on Israel, the violent rift that now exists between Fatah and Hamas, which has destroyed any semblance of Palestinian unity and greatly weakened the Palestinian position, and the refusal of Hamas to denounce violence or recognise Israel’s right to exist create significant stumbling blocks when it comes to peace.

Australia has played an important role in encouraging peace initiatives between Palestinians and Israelis that are consistent with our commitment to upholding the rule of international law, to pursuing multilateral diplomacy as a middle power and to advocating the idea of responsible international citizenship. Recently, the Australian government announced a doubling of Australia’s aid contribution to the occupied territories to $45 million for 2008. I want to take this opportunity to lend my strong support to this decision. Australia’s aid includes $25 million in assistance to Palestinians affected by the worsening situation in Gaza and the West Bank and $20 million to support the implementation of the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan. Few are under any illusion that the road to peace will be anything other than long and arduous, but it is a road that must be travelled and Australia has a significant role to play in that. I welcome and acknowledge the presence of Izzat Abdulhadi, head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia and New Zealand, who is in the chamber this evening. (Time expired)

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