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Peter Dutton says Palestinians fleeing war-torn Gaza should not be allowed into Australia.
Dutton said there was uncertainty about the identity or loyalties of Gazans as Hamas – which carried out a terror attack against Israel – remains in power.
“I don’t think people should be coming from that war zone at this time. It’s not prudent to do so and I think it puts our national security at risk,” Dutton told Sky News.
‘If people come from that war zone and we are not sure of their identity or their loyalties, Hamas is a registered terrorist organisation.
“They have just committed an atrocity against the Jewish people.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Dutton was always trying to divide people.
“We’re taking the advice of the director-general of ASIO and the security agencies, not someone who’s always looking for a fight, always looking for division,” he told ABC News.
Nasser Mashni, chair of the Australia-Palestine Advocacy Network, called the comments “another blatant example of the abhorrent and increasingly normalised form of racist politicking designed to foment fear and hatred against the Palestinian people.”
Peter Dutton said there was uncertainty about the identity or loyalties of Gazans as Hamas, which carried out a terror attack on Israel, remains in power.
Peter Dutton says it is too risky to allow people fleeing Gaza into Australia
“All elected representatives must condemn in the strongest possible terms Peter Dutton’s incitement to racist stereotypes under the guise of national security,” she told AAP.
“Australia rightly supported Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. We have a moral obligation to offer the same level of support, compassion and care to Palestinians fleeing Israel’s genocide.”
Independent Senator David Pocock said the Opposition Leader’s comments “would only exacerbate the strain on our social cohesion and are completely inconsistent with the advice of ASIO boss Mike Burgess”.
“The continued extreme state violence, starvation and killing of civilians and hostages in Gaza is absolutely horrific,” he told AAP.
“Australia needs to do more, not less, to support people trying to flee one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of our time,” Senator Pocock said.
“It is completely hypocritical for the coalition to support additional humanitarian visas for people fleeing conflict in Afghanistan and Ukraine, but not for Gaza.”
Shadow Attorney General Michaelia Cash has rejected the hypocrisy of the coalition government helping people flee Afghanistan when the Taliban took power.
“We ensured at all times that appropriate visa checks were carried out,” he said.
‘We must always take care of those who come from war-torn countries, but we must also take into account the circumstances of those countries.’
ASIO Director Mike Burgess and Home Office officials have repeatedly said that adequate security checks were carried out on visa applicants.
Around 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas launched its attack on October 7 and nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza.
The Australian government has called for a ceasefire plan as the death toll mounts and the humanitarian situation worsens.
