Senator Fatima Payman, a member of the governing Australian Labor Party, has resigned from the party after being suspended from the parliamentary caucus for supporting a Greens Party proposal to recognize Palestine as a state.

Payman, who represents Western Australia, announced her resignation on Thursday, July 4th, 2024, stating that she could no longer remain in the party while facing pressure to conform to its decisions.

"I am being pressured to comply with the party's decisions, and my conscience leaves me no other choice," she said. "On the day I supported the Greens' proposal to the Senate to recognize a State of Palestine, Labor members didn't want to sit next to me."

Payman, who became the first hijab-wearing senator in Australia in 2022, was the only Labor member of the Senate to support the Greens' proposal, which was ultimately rejected by the Australian Parliament on June 25th.

The Labor Party suspended Payman's right to attend caucus meetings indefinitely on June 30th, a decision made by Australian Prime Minister and Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese.

Payman, who is of Afghan descent and whose family sought asylum in Australia several years ago, has become the first Australian legislator to formally separate from their party as a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Bloomberg reports that Payman's resignation could complicate the Prime Minister's efforts to secure re-election in the next general election, scheduled for May 2025.

The senator's resignation comes amidst a growing international recognition of Palestine, with Armenia, Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia all recently recognizing the state following the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that began in October 2023 and the escalating Israeli crackdown on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.