August 14, 2024
The Home Affairs Department has quietly restricted the issuing of visas to Palestinians fleeing war-torn Gaza, limiting entry to spouses and dependants, amid a deepening political row over the adequacy of security checks.
As the opposition demanded new Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke reveal how many Palestinians had undergone full ASIO vetting, Palestine's top local diplomat expressed confidence the strictness of checks meantsupporters of terror groupHamas were not being granted entry to Australia.
Tensions over assessments for Palestinians have erupted after ASIO chief Mike Burgess indicated at the weekend that not everyone was being vetted and said expressing ''rhetorical support'' for Hamas was ''not a problem''. More than 70 Coalition MPs have signed an open letter to Mr Burke, organised by Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser, demanding no visa be issued to Hamas supporters and that people with links to the terror group already in Australia have their visa revoked.
And amid growing fears of a retaliatory strike on Israel, parliament's intelligence committee recommended the Albanese government designate parts of southern Lebanon controlled by Iranian proxy-militia Hezbollah a ''declared area'' under counterterrorism law, making it illegal for Australians to travel there.
The political fight over Palestinian visas came as an independent challenger, to Mr Burke, Ziad Basyouny, accused him of failing to represent the views of his Muslim constituents and their anger over Israel's killing of 40,000 Gazans.
Since the October 7 terrorist attack on southern Israel, 2911 visas have been granted to Palestinians, with 2558 of them short-term visitor visas. About 1300 people have reached Australia, with the government mulling a new class of visa offering them work rights to support themselves.
But the head of the Palestinian delegation to Australia, Izzat Abdulhadi, told The Australian Financial Review the government several months ago had begun tightening up who would be issued visas. While parents, aunts and uncles had received visas in the first few months after October 7, visas were now being limited to just spouses and dependent children from Gaza.
Mr Abdulhadi said character and security checks were stringent, with Australian officials consulting both Israeli and Palestinian security agencies to establish a person's bona fides.
''[Israeli authorities] have records for everyone in Gaza. They know who has been in prison, who has been involved in politics,'' he said. ''If there were vocal statements in Gaza for Hamas, I'm sure they would be picked up.'' Apoll in June put political support in Gaza for Hamas at 38 per cent but Mr Abdulhadi said suggestions Gazans supported the terror group en masse were ''propaganda''.
While careful not to directly criticise Mr Burgess, opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said it was not ASIO's job to set immigration policy and the government needed to make clear anyone who expressed any form of support for Hamas would be refused entry.
''Tony Burke should urgently clarify how many visa applications from Gaza a war zone previously governed by a terrorist organisation are being referred to ASIO for investigation,'' Senator Paterson said. ''We cannot afford the risk of rushed vetting after the terrorism threat level has just been lifted and in the middle of an unprecedented antisemitism crisis.'' Mr Burke said security assessments were properly made by the experts at ASIO, ''not by junior Liberal Party shadow ministers''.
