Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The circumstances in Israel and Palestine are an indescribable tragedy, a nightmare. The world has been shocked and appalled and shares—through our common humanity, but particularly through our affected communities—some of the grief and extraordinary heartache being suffered. In Australia there is enormous sympathy for people in Israel and Gaza, whose lives have been torn apart by terror, violence and suffering. Eleven days ago, Israel suffered an abhorrent terrorist attack on civilians that resulted in more than 1,000 deaths and more than 3,000 casualties. More than 100 hostages were taken, including women, children, senior citizens and people with a disability. That is unconscionable, and they must be released without condition immediately.

Today the conflict continues, through rocket fire from Gaza and through the aerial bombardment and siege measures being applied by Israel. There shouldn't be any argument about the widest expression of sympathy and compassion for all those affected by this violence. There shouldn't be any argument about the widest calls for an end to the violence. I condemn utterly the terrorist attack by Hamas on the people of Israel—the wanton killing of civilians, the taking of hostages, the merciless and brutal violence. All of it is horrible and unconscionable, both in its totality and in its detail, in the stories of parents that lost murdered children and the footage of music festival goers hunted to their death. I cannot imagine the web of agony that has spread throughout families and communities in Israel itself. Of course that web extends to affected communities around the world and to communities here in Australia. We extend our care, sympathy, compassion and love to those people in pain. We say clearly in this time of bewilderment and fear that people with Israeli heritage and people of the Jewish faith are cared for and safe in Australia.

The events in Israel and Palestine are an awful reminder that indiscriminate violence results from the dehumanisation that is born of prejudice. Without question, antisemitism continues to be one of the most virulent and harmful kinds of bigotry the world has ever seen. We cannot be complacent about the existence of antisemitism. We must see it clearly wherever it exists and must call it out and combat it.

Religious, racial and ethnic prejudice is the scourge of decent and peaceful society. No-one should fear walking the streets of Australia on the basis that they wear the uniform of a Jewish school or if they wear a headscarf or a turban. We shouldn't pretend our history, even our recent history, is free of prejudice. We must be consistent in our approach to those matters. It's particularly incumbent on those of us who have the privilege and responsibility of working as representatives to make sure we speak about, and practice, tolerance, compassion and peaceful conduct.

The last thing Australia needs is to find itself replicating the divisions and intolerance that are the root cause of longstanding conflict in other parts of the world. We've seen in the past how terrorism overseas can manifest in social disorder and communal violence in Australia. In 2005, following the terrorist attacks in London, we had the Cronulla riots in Sydney, when mobs moved through the streets attacking anyone of Middle Eastern appearance. Strike Force Neil concluded that key elements of that conduct were racism and media manipulation. In the last week we've seen rallies in this country which involved fringe elements who gave voice to disgusting and frightening antisemitism. That prejudice and those sentiments have no place in Australia. Everyone in Australia has a right to live free from discrimination and fear, free from antisemitism and free from Islamophobia.

It's completely understandable and legitimate that Israel would respond to the Hamas terrorist attack. There is no question that every nation has an obligation to protect its citizens. The government of Israel has described its response as war. That is what is now occurring in terms of the aerial bombardment of Gaza and preparations for a ground assault. The practice of war is subject to international law and to the broader principles of humanitarian conduct. No country alone determines whether it is acting in observance of those laws and principles. Indeed, whenever violent conflict occurs, it is the role of all nations to uphold and assert international law and the standards of humanitarian conduct.

When the Leader of the Opposition says that there should be no calls for restraint in relation to violence directed at those who have shown no restraint, he appears to be saying that in such circumstances anything goes, and that is wrong. It's a statement that appears to ignore the fact that in every war the greater suffering is borne by innocent civilians, and that is the case right now. More than a thousand civilians were killed in the attacks by Hamas. More than 2,000 civilians have died already in Gaza as a result of the aerial bombardment by Israel. That is why urging restraint is always right and always necessary. That is why Australia urges restraint by all involved in violent conflict, including in the present conflict in Israel and Palestine. The United States has urged restraint. The United Nations has urged restraint.

I join with my fellow parliamentarians in saying that we reject, oppose and fight against terrorism not only because of the awful harm it does but because of the inhumanity it represents. We define ourselves and our values by rejecting that kind of conduct. We reject barbarism. We reject the indiscriminate suffering of civilians. We oppose and must condemn any conduct that amounts to collective punishment, not least because it is a breach of international law.

As a chilling matter of perspective, the point has been made that the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas represented the greatest loss of life for Jewish people in a single day since the end of the Holocaust. That is testament to the scale and severity of the abhorrent violence and cruelty inflicted by Hamas on Israeli citizens. It also acts as a bitterly dark reminder that Hamas is guided by a doctrinal bigotry against people of the Jewish faith, and that context is pertinent. But as civilians in Gaza now suffer the response to those attacks, their circumstances cannot be without context. Civilians in Gaza already exist in a trapped and desperate position without adequate health services and basic infrastructure, without medicines and other basic goods, without freedom of movement or escape. The Palestinian people as a whole already exist under a form of blockade or occupation, and that occupation is illegal. All Palestinians are, as it stands, prevented from achieving the just and legitimate ambition to exist peacefully in a state of their own.

Last night the Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza was bombed. It is estimated that more than 500 people have been killed. This is a statement from the World Health Organization:

WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. The hospital was operational, with patients, health and care givers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. Early reports indicate hundreds of fatalities and injuries.

The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military. The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced.

WHO calls for the immediate active protection of civilians and health care. Evacuation orders must be reversed. International humanitarian law must be abided by, which means health care must be actively protected and never targeted.

Half of the population of Gaza are children. Are a million children going to be consigned to a life in a coastal strip that has been levelled to the ground? This parliament is expressing its deepest sorrow, sympathy and support for the people of Israel and for people of Israeli and Jewish heritage around the world, but especially here in our Australian community in the aftermath of an extraordinary awful terrorist attack. We express our heartfelt sympathy and concern for the Palestinian people in Gaza and for Australian Palestinians who are watching their family and friends struggle for survival. In recognition of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which comes on top of the significant disadvantage that existed before the war commenced, the Australian government on Saturday committed $10 million in additional assistance, noting that our contribution to the vital work of UNRRA was doubled in September.

In the weeks ahead we should urge a cessation of violence and a return to peace at every opportunity. We should counsel restraint and condemn terrorism and condemn any breach of international law or humanitarian principle, including collective punishment. We here in Australia must reject the taking of sides and the fomenting of prejudice and division, reject and respond firmly to any hate speech or racial and religious practice—all of us, every day must practise this—in speech and conduct moderation, tolerance, compassion and support for social cohesion, harmony and peace.

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