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Australia’s Liberal Party leader slammed over call to ban Gaza refugees
The leader of Australia’s main opposition party, Peter Dutton, has come under fire for calling on the government to ban the entry of Palestinian refugees from Gaza.
Independent legislator Zali Steggall, during a heated discussion in parliament earlier today, told the Liberal Party leader to “stop being a racist”, and accused Dutton of trying to paint all Palestinians as “terrorists” and “not worthy of humanitarian aid”.
Members of the Australian cabinet and advocacy organisations also criticised Dutton, who earlier this week called for a bar on refugees from Gaza due to possibility of Hamas sympathisers entering the country, according to media reports.
Education Minister Jason Clare invited Dutton to his western Sydney electorate, where some 1,000 Palestinians from Gaza live.
“These are people who’ve had their home blown up, who’ve had their school blown up, who’ve had their hospital blown up, in some cases, have had their kids blown up,” Clare told reporters on Wednesday.
Nasser Mashni, president of the Palestine Advocacy Network, urged all elected representatives to condemn Dutton’s “stoking of racist stereotypes, under the guise of national security”.
Mashni told the Australian Associated Press that Canberra had “rightly supported” Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion and was “morally obliged to offer the same levels of support, compassion and care” to Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
Australia refusing visas for most Palestinians fleeing Gaza: Report
The SBS News broadcaster said official data shows that the Australian government is rejecting the majority of visa applications from Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
Since October last year, Australia has rejected 7,111 visa applications from Palestinians and granted 2,922. About 1,300 of those with approved visas have resettled in Australia, the broadcaster said.
In contrast, Australia granted 8,746 visas to Israeli citizens and rejected 235 applications over the same period. The report came as the leader of the main opposition party, Peter Dutton, called for a ban on Palestinians from Gaza, saying they posed a national security risk.
UN food agency welcomes Japanese aid for Gaza
The World Food Programme thanked Japan for a “life-saving contribution” of 400 million Japanese yen (approximately $2.7m at current exchange rates) to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to severely food-insecure Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“I am meeting families and parents who struggle to secure the most basic needs, even if it just means putting one meal a day on the table,” said Antoine Renard, country director of WFP Palestine.
According to WFP figures, some $303m is needed for the agency’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank until the end of 2024.
