Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke,whose western Sydney seat of Watson is 24 per cent Muslim,is listed as being “weak” on Palestine. This is despite Burke coming out early and consistently to condemn Israel’s military action,while supporting the right of councils to fly Palestinian flags.

The prospect of well-resourced independents running on the Gaza issue in seats such as Watson,Blaxland and Chifley in NSW,and Wills and Calwell in Victoria has prompted talks among Labor MPs and strategists about the prospect of a “teal-style” independent victory or preferences flows to Liberals or Greens.

Organisers from The Muslim Vote were contacted for comment.

On Wednesday,anti-Israel protesters will defy calls to stop hindering access to MPs’ offices by setting up an indefinite picket outsideForeign Minister Penny Wong’s office.

In a statement,demonstrators said they were taking aim at Wong because she had “blamed Palestinians for their own deaths” — a reference to Wong pointing out that Hamas operated in civilian areas — and “continued to advocate for a two-state solution”,which protesters oppose.

The group’s website lists Habibah Jaghoori as an organiser of the protest. Thismasthead reported in May that she had been sacked from Adelaide University’s student newspaper for repeatedly praising Hamas and its “magnificent” October 7 attacks,which killed 1200 people.

The Greens have been involved in some protests outside MPs’ offices,including that of Anthony Albanese. On Sunday,Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said the Greens were not “encouraging any protests that are violent”.

Payman created a weeks-long political crisis when she voted with the Greens on a Senate motion calling for immediate recognition of a Palestinian state. She rejected Labor’s suggested change to the motion that said recognition should occur as part of a two-state peace process.

In an ABC TV interview on Monday,the newly independent senator claimed Labor had ignored the sentiments of its political base.

“A lot of Western Australians have been reaching out to me wanting to share their experience ... that the Australian Labor Party that they elected is not serving their best interests,” she said.

WA Labor Premier Roger Cook criticised Payman on Sunday,saying:“Just like cane toads,we need to resist the poison that comes from Canberra or from over east at times.”

Former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans said he agreed with Payman that Labor’s position on Palestinian statehood lacked urgency. But he added:“The irony is that,by taking the defiant stand she has,Senator Payman has now made it politically harder for the government to take the small extra step in its recognition policy that would be in everyone’s interest,Palestinians and Israelis alike.”

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis.Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.