Israel protester ejected from parliament

Sandra O’Malley and Melissa Jenkins

The Australian

12 March 2008

A FEMALE protester has been escorted from parliament after attempting to interrupt Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech recognising the 60th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.
As Mr Rudd rose in the House of Representatives chamber to propose a motion celebrating the anniversary, a lone middle-aged woman stood in the public gallery to protest.

"What about the UN resolution?" the woman called out as she held up what looked like a T-shirt before being escorted from the gallery by security guards.

Labor has defended its decision to go ahead with the motion despite opposition from within ALP and union ranks, and amid faltering peace talks in the Middle East.

Several protesters holding placards rallied outside parliament this morning criticising Israeli incursions into Palestinian territory.

A group of people, including a number of prominent unions, put their name to a pro-Palestinian advertisement criticising the motion in a national newspaper today.

Australians for Palestine accused Mr Rudd of ignoring the displacement of Palestinians for the past 60 years, which it said was at odds with his recent apology to the Stolen Generations.

Mr Rudd recalled in parliament the prominent role Australia had played in the process which led to the creation of a modern Israel, making special note of the efforts of former Labor leaders Doc Evatt and Ben Chifley.

"We firmly believe the establishment of an independent and economically-viable Palestinian state must remain a key objective of the Israeli peace process,'' Mr Rudd said.

"This is important for the future ... just as our objective must be for Israel to exist within secure and internationally-recognised boundaries."

 

 

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