The Australian Greens have long worked inside and outside parliament to oppose Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Beginning with the election of Jo Vallentine in 1990, Greens MPs and public representatives across Australia have taken an active role promoting the rights of Palestinians in federal and state parliaments, local government areas and local communities across Australia.
At a state level, Greens MPs have been instrumental in establishing Parliamentary Friends of Palestine Groups.
These groups, which have coconvenors from different political parties, help bring Palestinian voices into the key legislative bodies in the country. They also help build cross-party support for the Palestinian people.
Greens MPs and party members are involved in Palestinian solidarity organisations and take a leading role in educating their local communities about the situation in the Middle East and how Australians can make a contribution towards peace with justice.
In 2014 in response to Israel's brutal attack on Gaza, Lee, Labor MPs Melissa Parke and Maria Vamvakinou initiated The Canberra Declaration on Gaza which called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a ceasefire deal which includes an end to Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories and to the blockade of Gaza. It was signed by 74 sitting MPs and former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
Nationally, the Australian Greens have passed a number of resolutions on the Israel/Palestine conflict.
At the core is the Greens’ support for the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and security. We strongly oppose Israel’s ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories and recognise the historic and ongoing injustices suffered by Palestinians.
To facilitate this end to the conflict, the Australian Greens believe all sides must respect and abide by UN resolutions and support the establishment of a UN-auspiced international commission with the support of an international peace-keeping force.
We believe that to be lasting, this peace process will require the involvement of Palestinian and Israeli women’s organisations and other sections of civil society, development programs to rebuild Palestinian infrastructure and institutions, international solidarity, and a joint healing process based on the principles of a truth and reconciliation commission.
Our policy calls for:
- The immediate withdrawal of the Israeli military from occupied Palestinian territories.
- The immediate dismantling of the seraration barrier and wall.
- The immediate freezing of all settlement activity and starting the removal of all Israeli settlers from Palestinian land.
- The immediate end to all violence against civilian populations.
To read the full detail of the Australian Greens’ resolution on Israel/Palestine, click here.
The Greens NSW for Palestine working group is running a campaign to End Military Ties with Israel.
The Australian Greens' work on Palestine
- Motion: Against Benjamin Gantz, former Israel Defence Force Chief of General Staff, March 2016
- Australian Greens For Palestine, third edition, February 2016
- Speech: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, December 2015
- Speech: The man who walked for Palestine, October 2015
- The Canberra Declaration on Gaza initiated by Lee, Labor MPs Melissa Parke and Maria Vamvakinou, August 2014
- Australian Greens Working For Palestine, published by Lee's office, July 2014
- NSW Greens Press Release: 680 dead, 3700 injured, entire families wiped out; any deal must include an end to the occupation, 24 July 2014
- Speech: Escalating attacks in Gaza and the West Bank, 29 July 2014
- NSW Greens Press Release: Israel's "collective punishment" kills civilians; Gaza's Ark destroyed, 15 July 2014
- NSW Greens Press Release: Australia must end the silence on Palestine, 9 July 2014
- Speech: Calling for an end to the silence on Palestine, 9 July 2014
- Senate Estimates: Lee asks the government about occupied East Jeruselem, 4 June 2014
- Press Release: Statement of support for Gaza's Ark, 3 May 2014
- Motion: Israeli settlements, defeated by the other parties in the Senate, 9 Dec 2013
- Speech: Call for an end to military cooperation with Israel, 3 Dec 2013
- Speech: Condemning the destruction of aid projects in Palestine, 27 Feb 2013
- Speech: Gaza offensive and Israel-Palestine conflict, 20 Nov 2012
- Speech: A story from Gaza, 13 Mar 2012
- Press Release: The Israeli government's failure to allow Sylvia Hale and Vivienne Porzsolt to visit Palestine, 18 June 2011
- Lee's history of the Greens NSW's campaign for Palestinian rights