Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens support a ceasefire and will support the government in doing everything possible to work for Australia to do that. We do not intend to support what is a totally one-sided motion, nor the language that Senator Ryan is using in relation to this matter. We condemn violence on both sides of the conflict, and call for not only a ceasefire but also an end to the blockade on Gaza. It is quite clear that Israel is a major military force, and Gaza is a community with a broken economy and restrictions on freedom of movement and goods. The Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon, has called for an end to the blockade of Gaza. That should occur because that blockade hurts civilian populations. Australia should be supporting the two-state solution in the United Nations and the aspirations of both the Palestinian and Israeli people to live in peace and security in their own independent sovereign states.