Australian Activists Hold March to Support Palestine

Sydney, 3 Muharram 1438, 4 October 2016 (MINA) — Australian activist John Salisbury, joined by a number of Palestinian solidarity activists launched the “Recognize Palestine Walk 2016” on Sunday, a 300 km march from the Australian city of Sydney to the capital, Canberra.

The activists, set to arrive in Canberra on Oct. 11, aim to deliver a petition to the Australian House of Representatives, asking their government to recognize the state of Palestine. Maan reported.

Palestinian People Party’s official Shamekh Badra told  on Monday the petition was signed by thousands of Australians, including politicians and academics, to support the Palestinian cause.

Badra stressed the importance of such efforts to gain international recognition of Palestine, saying a Palestinian state must be established to resist Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory.

The website for the Australian Friends of Palestine Association quoted Salisbury as saying: “From 2-11 October 2016 I will once again walk from Sydney to Canberra in support of Palestinian human rights.

The walk will follow the path of a similar endeavor in 2014 led by Israeli academic Dr. Marcelo Svirsky and the same walk by myself in 2015. I will carry with me a petition asking our elected representatives to formally recognize the state of Palestine. Over 130 countries have formally recognised Palestine. Why not Australia?”

As of 14 September 2015, 136 (70.5%) of the 193 member states of the United Nations and two non-member states have recognized the state of Palestine. (T/Anj/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)