Palestine National Day

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:23): This Saturday marks Palestine National Day, a time to honour the people's enduring struggle for justice, dignity and statehood and to reaffirm our shared commitment to peace, truth and humanity. First declared by the Palestinian National Council in 1988, this day is a powerful expression of national identity and resilience. For Palestinians around the world in exile, under siege or living in a diaspora, it is a deeply personal reminder of their right to self-determination and a future free from occupation.

More than symbolic, Palestine National Day asserts that the Palestinian people exist, that their history matters, and their future must be one of freedom. I begin by acknowledging the recent peace arrangement—as fragile as it may be—which has brought a moment of respite to a region long gripped by violence. I welcome this development with cautious optimism and sincerely hope that it marks the beginning of a durable, just and inclusive peace, a peace that does not merely pause the suffering but ends it; a peace that recognises the humanity of every Palestinian child, every displaced family and every silenced voice.

I would also like to acknowledge the federal Labor government's recognition of the state of Palestine. This act of moral clarity affirms what 157 nations and the United Nations itself has already declared, that Palestine is not a theoretical construct but a real and rightful state with borders, people and a history that cannot be erased.

Recognition matters. It matters because it shifts the balance from silence to solidarity, from denial to dignity. It matters because it tells the Palestinian people in South Australia, across Australia and across the world that they are seen, heard and valued, but let us not pretend that recognition alone is enough. The reality on the ground remains dire. Palestine is disappearing, not metaphorically but physically under the relentless expansion of illegal settlements sanctioned and supported by the Israeli state.

These settlements are not passive structures, they are instruments of displacement, symbols of defiance against international law and barriers to peace. I condemn the actions of Zionist forces and ideologies that have perpetrated this injustice. However, I say with absolute clarity that not all Jewish people are Zionists, and not all Zionists are Jewish. The distinction is important.

Our critique is not one of faith but of a political movement that has, in the most extreme forms, justified the erasure of Palestinian lives, homes and history. From Deir Yassin to Gaza, the record is clear: massacres, blockades and bombings have left scars that statistics cannot convey. More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the most recent conflict alone. These are not numbers, they are lives, stories and futures extinguished, and yet some in the Western world remain unmoved, their moral indifference cloaked in political expedience.

We must reject the false equivalence that dominates our media and political discourse. Just as we do not give equal airtime to Holocaust deniers, we must not legitimise those who deny the scale and severity of Palestinian suffering. The Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, horrific as they were, were not the beginning, they were the consequence. It was the result of decades of occupation, oppression and silence. Destroying Hamas will not destroy the Palestinian cause because it is a just cause rooted not in extremism but in the universal desire for home, peace and dignity.

The two-state solution has been the formal position of successive Australian governments. We must ask: is it still practical, given the ever-expanding settlements and the refusal of consecutive Israeli prime ministers to even contemplate it? If peace is truly the goal, then the first step must be to stop, not retreat, just stop the expansion into Palestinian lands.

Jerusalem, a city sacred to Jews, Muslims, Christians and others, was meant to be an internationally recognised space, yet it has been claimed, divided and politicised. This is not the path to peace, it is a path to perpetual conflict. Today, let us honour Palestine National Day, not with platitudes but with purpose. Let us stand with the Palestinian people not just in word but in action. Let us support their right to statehood, their right to return, and their right to live free from fear. History will judge us not by our intentions but by our actions. I, for one, choose to stand on the side of justice and stand with the Palestinian people.