Senator Lidia Thorpe has condemned Israel's escalating attacks on Lebanon, warning the violence is killing civilians, displacing communities, and undermining global peace efforts and efforts to mimimise economic impacts everywhere.
She is calling on the Albanese government to take immediate and concrete action to hold Israel accountable.
Senator Lidia Thorpe has condemned Israel's escalating attacks on Lebanon, warning the violence is killing civilians, displacing communities, and undermining global peace efforts and efforts to mimimise economic impacts everywhere.
She is calling on the Albanese government to take immediate and concrete action to hold Israel accountable.
Quotes attributable to Lidia Thorpe, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator:
"Israel’s attacks in Lebanon over the past 24 hours are horrific. Over 250 people have been killed and more than a thousand wounded. Since early March, 1.1 million Lebanese people have been displaced.
"The people of Lebanon are paying the ultimate price. But Israel’s ongoing violence is also undermining the ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
"These actions threaten the whole world. Israel's violence will drag us all down. Right now, the world stands with Lebanon, and against Israel’s violence. The world needs peace.
"Israeli ministers have been openly calling for annexation. They want to colonise Southern Lebanon and turn it into a new Gaza.
"Netanyahu acts with impunity because his allies, including the Albanese government, refuse to take meaningful action.
"The Albanese government must act.
"Australia should impose sanctions, expel the Israeli ambassador, end all military cooperation with Israel and the US in the region, recall the Wedgetail surveillance plane and all defence personnel, and stop intelligence sharing from Pine Gap.
"This is the minimum necessary to show that we do not accept accept Israel's violence in Lebanon, or their continued violence in Gaza despite the so-called ceasefire.
"The weak words of concern offered by Penny Wong and the Prime Minister are not enough. We need proper accountability and real action.
"I stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Lebanon, and the Lebanese community in our country, whose homeland is under attack."