Israel, Australia trade blows over visa row

TEL AVIV

Tensions between Israel and Australia escalated further on Aug. 19 after Canberra’s decision to recognize Palestine, with the dispute soaring to new heights amid a tit-for-tat visa row.

Australia's foreign minister on Aug. 19 criticized Israel for revoking visas held by Canberra's diplomatic representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

Israel's tit-for-tat move followed Australia's decision on Aug. 18 evening to block a far-right Israeli politician from the country ahead of a speaking tour.

Australia and Israel have been increasingly at odds since Canberra declared it would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said revoking the diplomats' visas was an "unjustified reaction" by Israel.

"At a time when dialogue and diplomacy are needed more than ever, the Netanyahu Government is isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution," she said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back on Aug. 19, slamming his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese as "a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews”.

The Australian government on Aug. 18 cancelled the visa of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, whose ultranationalist party is in Netanyahu's governing coalition.

Australia’s home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed Rothman’s visa application had been cancelled and he would not be able to apply for another one for three years.

“Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division,” Burke said in a statement.

Hours later, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had revoked the visas of Australia's representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

"I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel," he said.

"This follows Australia's decisions to recognize a 'Palestinian state' and against the backdrop of Australia's unjustified refusal to grant visas to a number of Israeli figures,” Saar noted.

Three-quarters of U.N. members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, with Australia becoming the latest to promise it will at the U.N. General Assembly in September.

The Israel-Hamas war, raging in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Oct. 7, 2023, has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

The action breaks with a long-held view that Palestinians could only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.

According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 U.N. members now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, including France, Canada and Britain.