Majority of Palestinians fleeing Gaza to Australia have had their visas refused

The majority of visas from Palestinians fleeing Gaza and seeking entry into Australia following Hamas’ October 7 attacks have been refused, according to figures confirmed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. Out of the 10,033 applications launched in the past 10 months, 7111 were rejected, while 2922 Palestinians were granted entry into Australia. Out of the 2922 figure, about 1300 refugees have resettled into Australia, who are understood to largely be on short-term visas. Meanwhile, 8746 Israeli citizens have been granted visas since the October 7 attacks, with 235 applications rejected. The Coalition has been on the attack, questioning whether adequate security arrangements had been taken in the processing of the visas. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Wednesday there should be a complete ban on people entering Australia from Gaza, telling Sky News “it puts our national security at risk”. His comments were an escalation on Tuesday’s events after Coalition MPs wrote to Tony Burke, calling on the newly appointed Home Affairs Minister to tighten visa vetting for applicants from Gaza to ensure they held no rhetorical support for Hamas. As it stands, applicants are only rejected if they are found to have given financial or material support to Hamas. During question time on Wednesday, both the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Burke faced a barrage of questions from the opposition. Asked by Mr Dutton whether “supporting a listed terrorist organisation like Hamas” passed “Australia’s character test,” Mr Albanese said the systems in place were the same now, as they were under the Coalition government. “If the Leader of the Opposition doesn’t have confidence in that system, he should say so. It’s exactly the same system that was in place when (Mr Dutton) was the Minister for Immigration, who presided over these issues,” he said. Mr Burke confirmed all visas granted by Australia, regardless of country, were cross-referenced with an ASIO watch list that is updated every 24 hours. “Every single visa that has been issued by this government and by the previous government went through that check against ASIO’s information,” he said. Directing a spray at a Coalition MP who asked whether applicants were granted a visa without an “in-person interview,” Mr Burke said the face-to-face assessment was not possible due to Gaza being a war zone. However he said this was not a “compromise on national security”. “But the security checks don’t change, and that’s what matters,” he said. The government is now trying to broker a solution for what will happen to the rough As it stands, Palestinians have been unable to leave Gaza following Israel’s closure of the Rafah border between Egypt in May. ly 2000 Palestinians whose temporary visas are set to expire since they arrived in Australia.