Australian lawmaker says she was denied right to introduce names of slain Palestinians in parliament

ANKARA (AA) — An Australian opposition lawmaker has claimed that the Labor government blocked her attempt to introduce the names of slain Palestinians in parliament.

Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Australian Greens, said she attempted to introduce the names of people killed by the state of Israel in Gaza in the Senate.

“I have been denied the right to table these names by the Labor government,” she said on X.

“These are people whose lives, dreams and hopes have been extinguished by a brutal occupying force and Labor won’t even let me table these names on to the Parliamentary record. We will not let them forget the Palestinians who have been massacred,” said the senator.

Faruqi also urged a cease-fire and said there must be an end to this abhorrent violence.

Over a month into Israel’s attacks on Gaza, Australia’s Labor government has walked a tightrope, condemning Hamas, and backing a two-state solution, while also seeking an end to settler violence in the West Bank.

Israel has killed at least 11,180 Palestinians, including over 7,700 women and children, and injured more than 28,200 since Oct. 7 when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, in which 1200 Israelis died.