The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) is deeply alarmed by the ongoing politicisation of Australian immigration policy, especially in how it impacts Palestinians fleeing the genocide in Gaza.
It is profoundly disturbing that ASIO head Mike Burgess has felt compelled to issue a clarification in response to the harmful rhetoric and demonisation of Palestinians by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
This situation not only exposes troubling systemic racism but highlights hypocrisy within our immigration system.
It also distracts from a more pressing issue: the reintegration of dual Australian-Israeli citizens who have served in the Israeli Occupation Forces into Australian society without adequate scrutiny. These individuals may be linked to severe violations of international law, including Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ongoing atrocities and apartheid in the West Bank.
More disturbing still is the hypocrisy of the Australian Government’s decision to grant a visa to Eylon Levy, a former Israeli spokesperson who has spread deceptive narratives justifying the genocide in Gaza, while it refuses to offer appropriate visa pathways to Palestinians fleeing this genocide.
Levy is visiting the country to help fundraise for the Jewish National Fund – an organisation involved in greenwashing land theft and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
To date, Israel’s genocide has killed more than 40,786 Palestinians and injured 94,224 people in Gaza.
During the past week, Israel has expanded its attacks on the occupied West Bank, launching the largest military assault on the area since 2002, killing at least 29 Palestinians, wounding 121 people, and destroying vital civilian infrastructure, roads, houses and blocking access to hospitals and ambulances.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese has warned “against the risk of the genocide leaking into the West Bank,” stating, “there is similar rhetoric, similar patterns, and escalating violence, ordering similar things.”
Comments attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
It’s alarming that the ASIO head felt it was necessary to issue a clarification in response to Peter Dutton’s baseless fears and politicised statements, reflecting a troubling trend where national security is being distorted for political purposes.
We’re deeply concerned about Australians serving in the Israeli Occupation Forces, which is not only responsible for Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, but also its atrocities in the West Bank. The Israeli Force’s role in these grave violations of international law mean that those who have served with it pose a serious risk, requiring immediate and rigorous scrutiny.
We’re also distressed that Eylon Levy is the latest in a series of supporters for Israel’s atrocities to be granted an Australian visa. This decision highlights a troubling willingness to accommodate those who defend and promote human rights abuses deemed by international courts as the most severe violations of international law.
The stark contrast in Australia’s rhetoric about and treatment of Palestinians compared with Israeli nationals is just the latest example of the systemic bias and racism that exists in this country, from the highest levels of politics to community level.
Palestinians are trying to flee 12 months of active Israeli genocide, and 76 years of oppression, occupation and apartheid, and it’s an indictment upon this country that it has chosen to demonise these people, rather than offer them the care and compassion that has been so rightly afforded to other people fleeing conflict zones.