The petition requests the House to ‘recognise the state of Palestine because, if the House is genuinely committed to a lasting two-state solution and advancing peace in the Middle East and beyond, then it must formally recognise the state of Palestine to ensure two sovereign states, based on the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions and international law’.
Full speech
Mr PERRETT (Moreton—Opposition Whip) (13:28): Today I table a petition. The petition has thousands of signatures and was presented to me by one of my constituents, David Forde, and by Professor Shahjahan Khan and Dr Mohammed Islam and others who drew it together. The petition requests the House to ‘recognise the state of Palestine because, if the House is genuinely committed to a lasting two-state solution and advancing peace in the Middle East and beyond, then it must formally recognise the state of Palestine to ensure two sovereign states, based on the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions and international law’.
It saddens me that millions of Palestinians continue to live under occupation or as refugees. The latest UNICEF situation report for Palestine reveals the dire living conditions of Palestinians. More than 80 per cent of the population are dependent on some form of assistance. There are 2.5 million people in need, most who call the Gaza Strip home. The security in that area is extremely fragile and unpredictable. Earlier this year, on 14 May, we saw the highest casualty toll in a single day since the 2014 hostilities were recorded: 60 Palestinians killed and 2,770 injured. Almost half of those killed and injured were by live ammunition. We now have three generations of refugees living in Gaza without any chance of economic capacity or having a decent standard of living. I applaud the efforts of David Forde and the wider Moreton community for bringing forward this petition, which I now table.
The petition read as follows—
TO THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES It draws to the attention of the House, the following facts: That Palestinians are a stateless people who have suffered under the shadow of Israeli occupation for far too long. They want freedom, justice, equality and the right to self-determination. For 25 years, Palestinians have engaged in a rigged “peace process” while Israel has confiscated their lands, colonised their country with Jewish settlements and imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza that has pauperised its population. As Israel consolidates its hold over the Occupied Territories and the remaining Palestinian enclaves continue to shrink, the window of opportunity for a two-state solution is closing fast. The failure of the two-state solution will leave Israel as an apartheid state, ruling over an indigenous underclass of permanently disenfranchised Palestinians. Such a situation would destabilise the entire region and serve as an invaluable propaganda resource for extremist and terrorist organisations around the world. Given Israel’s overwhelming political and military advantages, the Palestinians will never win their freedom and basic human rights without international intervention. .
We request the House to: Recognise the State of Palestine, because if the House is genuinely committed to a lasting two-state solution and advancing peace in the Middle East and beyond, then it must formally recognise the State of Palestine (to ensure two sovereign states), based on the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions and international law. The window of opportunity for a two state solution is fast closing.
from 2,415 citizens (Petition No. PN0371)
Petition received.