ABC News Australia reports that some palestinian Arabs who have finally been able to flee Gaza have suddenly had their temporary Australian visas cancelled, leaving them stranded in other countries.
The ABC is aware of several Palestinians who have had their visas cancelled while preparing to leave for Australia.
The Australian government has granted 2,273 temporary (subclass 600) visas for Palestinians with connections to Australia between October 7 and February 6 this year, according to figures from the Department of Home Affairs.
The department also granted 2,415 visitor visas to people declaring Israeli citizenship during that period.
That visa type means recipients cannot work, or access education or healthcare in Australia.
More than 31,100 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began bombing the besieged territory, after the October 7 Hamas attack which killed around 1,139 people.
Rasha Abbas, the co-founder of the Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA) Foundation said some who have had visas cancelled are now stuck in foreign countries where they have no legal status and cannot return to Gaza.
“They were issued a tourist visa to allow them to come and be with their families and the government encouraged the families here to use this visa clause,” Ms Abbas said.
Leaving aside the fact the report states as fact that “More than 31,100 Palestinians have been killed” – statistics that are highly doubtful since they come from Hamas itself and are very likely fabricated – I am interested in understanding why the visas were cancelled. The report contains one example for clarity:
One Australian woman applied for temporary visas for her two sisters and nieces, which were approved in November last year.
Like many other Palestinians trying to get out of Gaza, they were unable to leave for months as they waited to get the green light from border officials.
After successfully making it out of Rafah, one sister had her Australian visa cancelled in Cairo, while the other sister and her four children were able to go to a transit country.
Right before their flight to Australia, the mother was told at the airport that her visa had been cancelled but her children would be able to board the plane.
Her cancelled notification, which has been obtained by the ABC, stated that she had “never intended a genuine stay temporarily in Australia.”
“As part of the visa application process, you were required to meet subsection 600.211 which states the visa applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia.”
“The delegate considered the situation in your home country, including the current conflict, the internal displacement of persons and the difficult circumstances facing ordinary citizens there. The delegate considered you never intended a genuine stay temporarily in Australia and therefore the visa was granted based on circumstances which never existed.”
This prima facie might seem unfair, but reading on in the report, it seems as though Australian authorities discovered more information in order to arrive at this decision:
A spokesperson for the Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said it would not comment on individual cases “due to privacy reasons.”
“The Australian government recognises that this is an incredibly distressing time for Australians with extended family members in Gaza,” the spokesperson said.
“All visa applicants undergo security checks and are subject to ongoing security assessments. The Australian government reserves the right to cancel any issued visas if circumstances change.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also declined to comment on specifics. “I understand it’s a very difficult circumstance for families,” he said. “These decisions are made upon advice.”
I have a theory and it has to do with the timing of all of this.
As I have reported, anti-Israel activist Laura Allam was recently arrested and charged with orchestrating the kidnapping and torture of a member of her own community. Back in December, it was reported that she had been “allegedly helping Palestinians settle in Australia.”
Sky News host Sharri Markson has exposed a “terrorist sympathiser” allegedly helping Palestinians settle in Australia amid the war between Israel and Gaza.
Australia has granted visas to 860 Palestinians fleeing the conflict in the Middle East.
The Opposition has expressed concern over the government’s ability to ensure people who have terror affiliations are not allowed into Australia.Laura Allam claimed to be helping the Palestinians arrive in Australia through her non-government organisation AJF Org.
Ms Markson exposed “extremist content” posted on Ms Allam’s social media accounts, including a comment about plans to “avenge the martyrs in Jenin and Gaza.”
“It is a jihad of martyrdom or victory,” Ms Allam wrote on her Instagram post.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong was approached for a comment on the issue, with a spokesperson saying: “The Australian Government does not engage any NGOs in providing consular assistance to individuals seeking to leave Gaza”.
“People who obtain Australian visas are subject to appropriate identity, security and character checks,” the statement continued.
The Sky News host doubled down on the Coalition’s security check concerns, questioning how the government is ensuring Palestinians “share our values” and won’t import “hatred of Jews”.
Despite Foreign Minister Wong’s assurances, I believe some of the approvals were given without comprehensive checks. With Allam under investigation, more information regarding her activities and those she was trying to assist in getting visas to Australia may have come to light. And this information led the government to cancel the visas.
Were Australian authorities concerned that the Gazans, like Allam, held pro-Hamas sympathies? Or were Allam and company’s alleged violent crimes the straw that broke the camel’s back for the government when it comes to the disturbing hate and violence emanating from so many in the Australian “pro palestinian” community? Or perhaps, even worse, did they discover a plot to establish terrorist sleeper cells in Australia?
When Allam wrote in her last Instagram post that her speaking up could “have the most detrimental effect on [her] community” as well as “every single effort [they] have put in to [their] ‘movement,’” and that “the issue is not one that affects Laura only, but will affect a part of a particular community,” perhaps she was not merely referring to divisions in the community but cryptically referring to what we are now seeing with the visas.
Again, this is pure speculation, but it should be interesting to see how this all plays out.
