Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

'We were all asleep and then suddenly everything was turned upside down. The colour of the sky changed. The sky was filled with screams, crying and the sound of ambulances.' That was how an eyewitness described Israel's latest massacre in Gaza, committed yesterday. There have been just too many. We can't bear to look, but we should never look away. Families were sheltering in tents in what was supposed to be a safe zone, and they were burnt alive, buried in the sand. The bombing was so severe it left a deep crater at al-Mawasi, and melted bodies. At least 19 people were slaughtered, and the death toll is expected to climb. That is on top of the 41,000 Palestinians already slaughtered.

And, while Israel is slaughtering families day after day, burning them alive in tents, down in Melbourne major weapons companies, including the Israeli firm Elbit Systems, are gathering for an arms expo. My solidarity is with the thousands protesting in Melbourne today to say no to the business of war and to say no to Australia being complicit in genocide, because that is where this Labor government has, shamefully, positioned this country. Labor tries to distract and deflect, but there is no deflection. So long as we have defence contracts with Israeli weapons companies, the Labor government is complicit in genocide. So long as we refuse to impose sanctions on Israel, this Labor government is complicit in genocide.

There are no excuses for inaction. The UK has suspended some arms sales to Israel. Canada today is halting more arms sales to Israel. What will it take for the Labor government to take action against the apartheid State of Israel? Your hollow words and pointless phone calls are nothing but a smokescreen, and everyone can see through it. Do something! Take action!