Australia's Muslim senator calls for sanctioning Israel

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Australia's ruling Labor Party senator Fatima Payman called on the government to sanction Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza.

Payman criticized Australian leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, for making "performative gestures," SBS News reported.

"We can do something. We can sanction. We can divest. We can stop trade with Israel. We can call for a permanent cease-fire. We can call for an establishment of the Palestinian state," she said.

"Instead of advocating for justice, I see our leaders performatively gesture defending the oppressor's right to oppress, while gaslighting the global community about the rights of self defence," said the Afghan-born lawmaker.

She is the first federal Labor parliamentarian to break ranks by publicly describing what is happening in Gaza as a genocide.

"My conscience has been uneasy for far too long and I must call this out for what it is," Payman said.

"This is a genocide," she said.

"The lack of clarity, the moral confusion, the indecisiveness is eating at the heart of this nation," she said.

On Friday, Australia joined other countries in backing Palestinian statehood in a high-profile UN vote.

"This resolution that we have supported is about long-term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. And I truly believe that the only path to securing peace and security for Israel is with the establishment of two states," Foreign Minister Penny Wong had said.

At least 35,180 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed amid Israel's war on the besieged Gaza Strip, while over 79,000 others have been injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

A cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel that precipitated the current war killed about 1,200 people.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in the enclave.