Israel revokes visas for some Australian diplomats

By Alexander Cornwell and Alasdair Pal

TEL AVIV/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Israel’s foreign minister said on Monday he had revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, following a decision by Canberra to recognise a Palestinian state and cancel an Israeli lawmaker's visa.

The Australian government said it had cancelled the visa of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition who has advocated against Palestinian statehood and called for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Australia's ambassador to Israel had been informed that the visas of representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked.

Like many countries, Australia maintains an embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv and a representative office to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel," Saar wrote on X, describing Australia's refusal to grant visas to some Israelis as "unjustifiable".

Australia's government did not immediately comment.

The Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement condemning Israel's decision as illegal and "in violation of international law.

Australia is set to recognise a Palestinian state next month, a move it says it hopes will contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

INVITATION BY JEWISH ORGANISATION

Simcha Rothman, a parliamentarian from the Religious Zionism party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had been scheduled to visit Australia this month at the invitation of a conservative Jewish organisation.

Rothman said he was told his visa had been cancelled over remarks the Australian government considered controversial and inflammatory, including his assertion that Palestinian statehood would lead to the destruction of the state of Israel and his call for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank.

"Nothing that I said personally has not been said over and over again by the vast majority of the public in Israel and the Government of Israel," Rothman told Reuters by phone.

Rothman said he had been informed that his views would cause unrest among Australian Muslims. Asked about Canberra's decision on Palestinian statehood, Rothman said that would be a "grave mistake and a huge reward for Hamas and for terror".

Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said in an emailed statement that the government takes a hard line on those who seek to spread division in Australia, and that anyone coming to promote a message of hate and division was not welcome.

"Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe," he said.

The Home Affairs Ministry declined further comment.

Rothman had been invited by the Australian Jewish Association to meet members of the Jewish community and show solidarity in the face of "a wave of antisemitism," AJA Chief Executive Robert Gregory said.

In June, Australia and four other countries imposed sanctions on Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over accusations of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv and Alasdair Pal in Sydney, Editing by William Maclean and Timothy Heritage)