PRO-Palestine protesters breached security at Australia’s Parliament House to unfurl banners from the roof today as a senator quit the government over its approach to the Gaza war.

Tensions over Israel’s war against the Palestinians dominated Parliament’s final sitting day before a five-week break.

Four protesters were arrested after draping the words “war crimes” and “genocide” as well as the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” for more than an hour over the building’s facade, known as the Great Verandah.

Inside the building, Afghanistan-born Senator Fatima Payman, the only Australian federal lawmaker ever to wear a hijab during sittings, announced she had quit the ruling Labour Party since she could not toe the party line on Gaza.

She said: “My family did not flee from a war-torn country to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people.

“Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party is taking.”

The first-term senator defied her government colleagues last week by supporting a minor party’s motion that demanded the Senate recognise the state of Palestine.

Australia does not recognise a Palestinian state. The government pays lip service to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state can coexist.

Ms Payman will remain in the Senate as an independent lawmaker. She is the first government lawmaker to leave since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s administration was elected in 2022.

The protesters triggered a security crackdown in Parliament House that prevented many members of the public entering. The public galleries of both the House of Representatives and the Senate were kept empty as a precaution.

House Speaker Milton Dick said he was “deeply concerned” by the protests and had ordered an upgrade of security. 

Police were investigating how the protesters gained access to a secure area.