Fatima Payman was excluded from Labor caucus over her support for a Palestinian state but she has won an unlikely ally

When WA Labor senator Fatima Payman defied Anthony Albanese on Palestinian statehood by declaring — on national television — she would cross the floor again if a second vote on support for a Palestinian state was raised in parliament, she made it impossible for him to keep her in the Labor caucus without a backlash so large it would have ripped apart the government benches. Fatima Payman stares down Labor machine Photo shows Fatima Payman walks alongside David Pocock as she crosses the floor to vote against Labor Fatima Payman is the embodiment of some of Australia's most marginalised people — young, Muslim and a woman. Labor senator demands recognition of Palestinian statehood Photo shows Senator Fatima Payman asking a question at Environment estimates committee Fatima Payman has distanced herself further from the Albanese government’s formal policy on Gaza, insisting recognition of Palestinian statehood was necessary in the face of "genocidal acts" by Israel. Federal Labor MP Josh Burns is a Jewish man and opposed a vote to admit the Palestinian Authority as a full member of the United Nations General Assembly but he has formed a supportive friendship with Muslim Senator Fatima Payman who is lobbying for an end to the Gaza war.