Senator Fatima Payman receives 'cold shoulder' from Labor colleagues after crossing the floor in Palestinian vote

Fatima Payman says "an overwhelming majority" of Labor colleagues have been supportive. (ABC News: David Sciasci)

Labor Senator Fatima Payman says she has been given the "cold shoulder" by some of her Labor colleagues after crossing the floor in the Senate to vote on recognising a Palestinian state, adding that she would do it again if needed.

Each step "felt like a mile" when crossing the floor on Monday, the senator told reporters after she defied her party and voted with the Greens calling for the recognition of Palestinian statehood. She said if Labor wanted diversity in its party, it had to accept diversity of views and opinions.

The Western Australian senator's actions came after months of a ramping up her public support for the people of Palestine, as the war continued between Israel and Hamas. The death toll of Palestinians has reached more than 40,000, according to local officials.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in what she described as a stern but fair conversation, barred Senator Payman from caucus meetings for the rest of this parliamentary sitting, as punishment for crossing the floor.

Labor Party rules do not permit members to vote against the caucus position. It is the first time a Labor politician has crossed the floor while Labor was in government since 1988.

It is up to the caucus to decide on the penalty for voting against it, which can include suspension. Expulsion from the Labor Party is a matter for the party's national executive and Senator Payman said she had no intention of quitting the party.

"I understand there's been various colleagues who've been upset with me and frustrated. I've received the cold shoulder. But there has been an overwhelming majority who have stood up in solidarity doing their welfare checks," she told ABC's Insiders.

Gay senators Louise Pratt and Penny Wong didn't mince words on Ms Payman's decision to cross the floor this week and noted they had to vote against marriage equality in the years when Labor was against same-sex marriage.

Senator Wong told the ABC that even though she disagreed with Labor's position on queer marriage for years, she had those arguments internally in what she described as "the right way to go about it".

Senator Payman said Senator Wong and Senator Pratt campaigned within the party for 10 years or more for same-sex marriage but as the death toll rose in the war, Palestinians didn't have 10 years.

"And so that's why I will use what is within my power as a backbench senator to continue advocating for a just and lasting solution. And I think that's what fair Australians want," she said on Sunday.

A two-state solution, which would see a recognition of a Palestinian and Israeli state, has bipartisan support and Senator Payman told Insiders she supported one as well.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told Insiders that all members of the Labor caucus were a team, and Labor served in parliament because it was a party, not an individual.

He said Senator Payman would not be a senator "if not for the fact" Labor was next to her name.

"Without kind of prejudging what may or may not occur in terms of Senator Payman's actions going forward — I cannot overemphasise enough how important all of us who are members of the team regard the obligations of being a member of the team in terms of the way in which we behave," Mr Marles said.