Ed Husic’s push for Labor to recognise claims of a genocide against Israel has failed amid resistance from factional powerbrokers, prompting the backbencher to criticise the party’s culture under Anthony Albanese.On Saturday, the former industry minister said he doesn’t “give a shit” if senior colleagues freeze him out for constantly breaking ranks, and vowed to keep speaking about contentious issues.Two hours later, the party’s 50th national conference wrapped up without any major fights after a potential row over Israel and Palestine never materialised.Instead, there was a staged moment of unity for Labor, with MPs Josh Burns, who is Jewish, and Basem Abdo, the son of Palestinian refugees, to jointly support an update to the party’s foreign platform to reflect the government’s position on Israel, Palestine and Hamas.After two days of carefully controlled proceedings in Adelaide, factional powerbrokers scrambled to prevent internal tensions over Israel and Palestine spilling out on to the conference floor.Husic drafted a resolution that went much further than the party’s draft language on Israel, including to recognise a decision of the international court of justice that Palestinians have a “plausible” claim to be protected from acts of genocide.His proposed amendments also included an acknowledgment of findings of the UN independent international commission of inquiry, that determined that “Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide”. The Israeli mission in Geneva has said Israel rejected the commission’s “libellous sham”, and the country’s government has fought hard against allegations of genocide.The proposed resolution also supported trade sanctions,backed the investigation and prosecution of dual nationals who fought with the Israel Defense Force, and called for defence and trade officials to leave Australia’s embassy in Tel Aviv. It also called on the government to build on its recognition of a Palestinian state by exchanging ambassadors and consolidating diplomatic ties.The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) originally agreed to back Husic’s resolution after other left-wing unions were pressured to withdraw their support.But the MUA withdrew its support on Saturday morning, leaving Husic without a seconder just hours before the start of debate on the party’s foreign policy.Speaking to reporters on Saturday morning, Husic said he was disappointed the conference would not debate one of the “big moral issues of our time”.He suggested factional powerbrokers and senior ministers worked behind the scenes to prevent the resolution reaching the conference floor, although he stopped short of naming individuals.“I have to say I have been surprised at the extraordinary amount of energy that has been applied to stop this,” he said.The New South Wales state Labor MP Stephen Lawrence said Husic’s proposal had the “personal” support of most conference delegates.Senior Labor sources denied a coordinated effort by factional leaders to block the resolution, insisting Husic simply didn’t have enough support.In a speech to close proceedings, Albanese said the event was the most “purposeful and united” national conference he had ever attended.Standing ovation for Burns and AbdoOn the conference stage, Burns and Abdo spoke in support of the agreed position, receiving a standing ovation from delegates, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the defence minister, Richard Marles.The two MPs acknowledged the text was a compromise, but still a step forward.“If agreement was easy, there would be no conflict to solve,” Burns said.“But beneath agreement lies something more powerful: hope. Hope that two peoples can share a better future. Hope that our disagreements never stop us from recognising each other’s humanity.”The 400 conference delegates also rubber-stamped the government’s defence policies, after the factions blocked a push to withdraw from the Aukus security pact.Israel and Palestine had emerged as the biggest point of tension in an otherwise conflict-free national conference.Jewish groups and Israel’s embassy in Canberra have lobbied the party to water down the draft text, which they claim is not critical enough of Hamas’s role in the Gaza war, while pro-Palestine supporters within Labor are pushing to strengthen the language.The government believed the draft version struck the right balance and has been reluctant to bend to either group.The language in the draft platform relating to Israel and Palestine is substantially different to the 2023 iteration, reflecting shifts in government policy following Hamas’ 7 October attack and Israel’s war in Gaza.For example, it includes Labor’s opposition to the annexation of Palestinian territory and a call for an end to settler violence and the occupation.