The Australian Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, has called for a halt on granting visas to Palestinians fleeing Gaza, citing national security concerns. He argues that the influx of people from a conflict zone could pose risks, especially given the ongoing violence involving Hamas.
The call came after new figures showed that out of 10,033 visa applications from Palestinians since October 7, 7,111 have been denied in Australia. Many of the applicants are children, and most are on temporary visitor visas, VisaGuide.World reports.
I don’t think people should be coming in from that war zone at all at the moment. It’s not prudent to do so, and I think it puts our national security at risk.
According to the same data, Australia has granted 2,922 visas to Palestinians since October 7, 2023, with around 1,300 of these individuals currently in the country on temporary visitor permits. On the other hand, the number of visas approved for Israeli citizens is significantly higher, with 8,746 granted and only 235 rejected.
Recent figures from Senate Estimates further revealed that 4,614 Palestinian visa applications have been denied during this period, while 2,686 have been approved.
Additionally, opposition leader Dutton has faced backlash for his stance on banning visas for Palestinians fleeing Gaza. As such, Muslim groups have criticized Dutton’s position as discriminatory and are questioning the options available to Palestinians displaced by the ongoing conflict.
Australia Plans to Keep Palestinians in Country Longer Due to Gaza Conflict
Earlier this month, new Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke outlined the government’s plans, highlighting that the government is working on a plan to address the situation for Palestinians whose visas expire and ensure they do not return to Gaza in the middle of the conflict.
Certainly, no country in the world would send people back to Gaza at the moment … so we have to work through what happens as the visas that people are currently on expire.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke
Following this intention of allowing Palestinians to stay in the country longer, Minister Burke recently announced that the new planned rules would first apply to the 1,300 Palestinians already in Australia.
In this regard, he also noted that most of these Palestinians came on three-month visitor visas that required to prove they wanted to return to Gaza, which is still under attack from Israel.