Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The loss of lives this week—currently, 32 Palestinians and three Israelis—is horrific. I condemn the attacks by both Israeli and Palestinian militants and call on them to exercise restraint. It is vital, though, to remember the context. To that end, I draw the House's attention to the commemoration this month by Palestinian Australians of Al Nakba, the anniversary of the Nakba, where, in 1948, Jewish militia razed hundreds of villages and an estimated 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes, becoming refugees.

Dr Adel Yousif, an academic at the University of Tasmania, will commemorate the anniversary alongside Tasmanian Friends of Palestine. Dr Yousif's father was born in a small village in mandate Palestine. In May and July 1948, the village was attacked, resulting in members of Dr Yousif's family being killed while others fled. Dispossessed of their land and livelihood, Dr Yousif's family became stateless refugees. Dr Yousif was the first in his extended family to obtain a nationality and a passport, here in Australia.

With all of this in mind, I again call on the Australian government to condemn the illegal Israeli settlement of Palestinian territory, which is at the heart of the ongoing conflict, and I again call on the Australian government to formally recognise Palestine.