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

Palestinian women are renowned for their exquisite embroidery, recognisable as uniquely Palestinian. Generations of dignified and resilient Palestinian women pass on their craft with pride and determination, preserving this unique symbol of their identity. Tragically, thousands of Palestinian women, their children and their families have been killed in Israel's brutal assault on Gaza, which has seen women and children accounting for over 70 per cent of the 20,000 civilian casualties so far. What we are witnessing is Israel's breach of international humanitarian law, the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the renewed expulsion of the Palestinian people from their ancestral homelands. It is to the shame of this parliament that we have not, at the very least, given equal weight to the dead children and women of Gaza, not acknowledged that at the heart of this tragedy is Israel's occupation and the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. As we approach Christmas, I convey a message from a letter I received from Brother Peter Bray, the Vice-Chancellor of Bethlehem University, who I met on a visit there some years ago:

We are struggling to come to terms with what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza, we need to weep for what is happening, we need to stop this genocide. Please keep us in your prayers as we deal with these challenges here.