“I feel very strongly that Palestinians are being collectively punished here for Hamas’ barbarism,” he said in an interview on ABC’sRN Breakfast.
“Israel has described what happened on October 7[as] Israel’s equivalent of 9/11. The number of Palestinians that have been killed so far equates to the number of people who lost their lives in 9/11. We don’t see any public landmarks in Australia that are being lit up in red,black,white and green.
“Now,there’ll be people that are very uncomfortable with me making that remark. But it goes to the heart of what Palestinians and those who care for them in Australia[think],which is that Palestinian lives are considered lesser than.”
Aly,a professor of counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation who was born in Egypt,backed Husic’s comments. “I feel the pain of Australian Palestinians,Muslim and Christian,” she said.
“I feel the pain of Australian Muslims,and I know that Palestinians have for a long time felt that they have not been seen and have not been heard,that they have been forgotten by the international community,and I want to acknowledge that to them.”
She said it was “hard to argue that this is not a form of collective punishment” and called for a ceasefire. “The idea of war crimes is something that needs to be investigated,” Aly said.
Labor MPs Julian Hill and Maria Vamvakinou agreed that Palestinians were being collectively punished by Israel. Vamvakinou,whose constituents are among the 46 Australians trapped in Gaza,also supported her senior colleagues’ comments about community sentiment among Palestinian-Australians.
“That’s why you see people hitting the streets,” she said. “I’d like to see our government take initiative towards avoiding a military incursion … and I hope we get to a point where everyone in this country,including the political leadership,is emphasising the equal value of innocent lives.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeated Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas but acknowledged the MPs’ contributions in a respectful question time debate on Thursday.
“We mourn every single life that is lost,whether Israeli or Palestinian. The children who have been killed,the families torn apart. There is widespread suffering,no question about that,” he said.
Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou and Husic,who both spoke out about their concerns for Palestinians,in the lower house on Thursday.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“I recognise the important role that members here are playing in their respective communities.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong also called for parliament to unify in its message about the conflict.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Albanese should visit Tel Aviv on his way to the United States next week,while deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister should clarify whether he agreed with his cabinet ministers.
Loading
”There are obvious,and longstanding,consequences for division – cabinet ministers do not get the luxury of freelancing on foreign policy,” Ley said.
Alex Ryvchin,the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,said Husic and Aly were rightly concerned about the loss of civilian life,but he defended Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza.
“She[Aly] is concerned for human suffering on all sides,and this is perhaps an emotional reaction to that,which I do understand,” he said. “But the way to ensure peace for both peoples is the destruction of Hamas.”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.