By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party is taking,” said Senator Fatima Payman.

Four protesters have been arrested after scaling the roof of Australia’s parliament to highlight Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza by unfurling banners with one reading ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.’

Four activists scaled the roof of the Australian parliament building in the capital #Canberra on Thursday morning, where they unfurled huge banners calling for a free #Palestine and denouncing Australian complicity with the #Israeligenocide in #Gaza. One sign evoked Australia’s… pic.twitter.com/4GAMb3rxYg

— Megaphone News English (@MegaphoneNewsEN) July 4, 2024

“This is serious breach of the Parliament’s security,” the Shadow Homes Affairs and Cyber Security Minister, James Paterson, said in a post on X on Thursday.  “The building was modified at great expense to prevent incursions like this. An investigation is required.”

Using a megaphone, one of the protesters reportedly yelled “We declare to the Australian government we will continue to unmask and resist the US imperial, hegemonic and capitalist interests you devote yourself to.”

This is serious breach of the Parliament’s security. The building was modified at great expense to prevent incursions like this. An investigation is required. https://t.co/AL8ARPeRtO

— James Paterson (@SenPaterson) July 4, 2024

“Australia continues to enable and commit war crimes as lackeys to our ‘great and powerful’ friends,” the protester added, according to Al-Jazeera.

Another report quoted the protester as saying “We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will continue to resist.”

‘Not Peaceful’ – Albanese

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the protest, saying, “Those responsible should feel the full force of the law. Peaceful protest has an important place in our society, but this was not a peaceful protest.”

The protesters were charged with trespassing and have been banned from the parliament’s grounds for two years, according to Reuters.

On Thursday, Fatima Payman, a senator in the ruling Labor Party, quit the party to sit as an independent after she was suspended for voting for a motion backing Palestinian statehood.​​​​​​​

‘Accessory to Genocide in Gaza’ – Australian Prime Minister Referred to ICC

The Labor-led government opposed the motion last week, in the second attempt in as many months.

Payman, a senator from Western Australia, crossed the floor and supported the motion.

“Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party is taking,” she told a news conference.

‘Halt Military Exports’

Australia, which has called for a cease-fire in the conflict that began last October, does not recognize Palestinian statehood.

In May, more than 700 public servants from across Australia condemned what they called the government’s complicity in Palestinian genocide and demanded an immediate halt to military exports to Israel.

‘Cease All Military Exports to Israel’ – Australian Public Servants Urge Government

In a letter addressed to Albanese and all government members, the public servants said: “We call on the Australian Government to take swift and decisive action to end its support of the genocide, ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Palestine by immediately ceasing all military exports to Israel.”

Ongoing Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, and 87,445 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Six Massacres in 24 Hours – Israel’s Genocide in Gaza Continues

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, Anadolu, MEMO)