Australian government grants temporary visas to 800 Palestinians
For the past twenty years, Australia has enforced one of the most stringent policies globally regarding asylum seekers, adopting what it calls a “zero tolerance” policy towards those arriving offshore, especially via boats. The Australian Foreign Minister made no mention of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza intensifying over the past 7 weeks. Shame on her government.
This is a double edged sword because the people of Gaza have shown strong resistance to their removl from northern Gaza by the IOF to the extent of risking their lives to return. During the truce on 25 November 2023, Some Palestinians have been murdered and more injured by Israeli snipers trying to stop them from going northwards to find family members and to return to Gaza city. That said there are children and young Palestinians who need some relief from the genocidal war being conducted by Israel.
In October 2022, the Big Ride for Palestine Australia, along with a 1948 Palestinian refugee, took up a petition to the Australian Prime Minister to ease restrictions on Palestinian travel to Australia. We were trying to assist a family from a refugee camp on the West Bank whose apartment has been raided and trashed by Israeli occupation forces.
Australia has granted temporary visas for more than 800 Palestinians since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Foreign Minster Penny Wong announced on Monday (20 November 2023) having ignored our petition for over a year and having voted for genocide in Gaza in the UN in October 2023. Her government has lost all credibility in the eyes of the world along with other colonial settlers skates: United States and Israel.
Wong addressed the media shortly after the four-day ceasefire announcement, saying that while hundreds of Palestinians have been granted Australian visas, an even higher number of Israeli citizens obtained visas within the same timeframe.
Ian Curr
Brisbane, Australia
Nov 24, 2023
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