Embattled MP slams Muslim Vote claim that Labor’s ‘weak on Palestine’

Labor’s Peter Khalil has become the first MP to push back against claims made by a pro-Palestinian political movement aiming to unseat Labor politicians, declaring the group known as The Muslim Vote is misleading the public about the government’s stance on the Gaza war.

The Melbourne MP is fighting to hold onto his inner-northern seat of Wills after a redistribution proposal five weeks ago that favours the Greens, who are reaching out to Muslims who make up 10 per cent of the electorate’s voters.

The Muslim Vote’s network plans to campaign against Labor MPs they regard as “weak on Palestine” in several seats – including Wills – and met Senator Fatima Payman last month before she crossed the floor to vote with the Greens on immediate recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Peter Khalil has hit back at a campaign against Labor over the conflict in Gaza.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

Khalil on Monday accused the group’s leaders of failing to mention “countless” public statements by Labor such as breaking with the United States to back a ceasefire vote at the United Nations, calling for unimpeded aid, demanding Israel respect humanitarian law, and affirming Australia’s role in a peace process that could lead to a Palestinian state.

“I have spoken on Palestinian self-determination and statehood multiple times in parliament. I spoke most recently in parliament on July 3, 2024, in strong support of a Palestinian state and self-determination. None of this was accurately acknowledged on the scorecards or claims on [Muslim Votes Matter/the Muslim Vote],” he said in a statement.

“In addition, they do not represent the countless on-the-record statements on radio, TV, print media and social media.”

Khalil has expressed the private frustration of target MPs, including senior ministers, who believe the group is fuelling misinformation and distrust, but they are unwilling to criticise the group openly.

The Muslim Vote website – modelled on a UK version that helped elect five independent MPs last week on the Gaza issue – lists Labor MPs and rates the strength of their support for the Palestinian cause.

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 outside Foreign 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. This masthead 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.

Senator Fatima Payman.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

“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.”

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