Australian PM Rejects Opposition’s Call to Ban Palestinian Refugees from Gaza
As expected, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has again ignored the call by the opposition to deny entry to Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
Earlier, the opposition leader Peter Dutton called on the government to stop people from entering Australia from the Palestinian territory, describing that as a ‘national security threat.’
Albanese, who had already condemned Dutton on this issue, said the opposition’s policy line is causing division within the Australian community at a time when executive managers for Security leaders are stressing ‘Social Cohesion.’ According to Albanese, when talking to journalists in Sydney, ‘What does Peter Dutton do? He offers no positive reaction to the issues that Australians have, but he tries to incite fear.
He also drew our attention to the fact that the borders, including the Rafah crossing, are closed because of the conflict. It has also been learned that the Department of Home Affairs presents different figures, which are 2,922 applicants, and out of them, 1300 Palestinians have already reached Australia safely. At the same time, it also revealed that 7,100 of the visa applications from Palestinian territories have been turned down.
Nevertheless, relying on these statistics, Dutton continued his demands on Sunday to impose the visa ban until security clearance could be ‘ensured.’He said in an opinion piece that many evil people slip through immigration because of the lack of proper identification.
Dutton’s comments about Labor have been criticized by the Labor party, the Greens, the crossbench, and Palestinian lobbyist groups. For this reason, they said his approach is polarizing and a form of rejection of Australia’s humanitarian obligations.
The debate concerning the refugee movement and integration into other countries is made against the backdrop of the ongoing military campaign in Gaza, Israel. Flouting a UN Security Council resolution ordering the halt of operations in the Gaza Strip immediately, Israel has been condemned by the international community after the two the Gaza Strip’s Hamas militants attacked on October 7 the previous year.
The Israeli war has led to the killing of thirty-nine thousand one hundred people; the majority are women and children, and fifty-four thousand two hundred fifty more have been wounded, as established by Gaza’s health departments. Currently, a significant area of Gaza has been destroyed due to this unsparing bombardment, and a strict siege has made it almost impossible to get food, water, and medical supplies.
Concerning the conflicts, the International Court of Justice has claimed that Israel has indulged in genocide and has called upon it to stop its military aggression in Gaza right now. Nevertheless, the situation is still challenging, with no signs of a cease of the war and continued suffering of people.
While Australia tries to find its way to Palestinian immigration, the entire world thus lacks a feasible solution that will put an end to the issue once and for all.
