UPDATE - Israel revokes visas of Australian representatives to Palestinian Authority amid tension over statehood

UPDATES WITH PALESTINIAN REACTION

By Zein Khalil and Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) – Israel cancelled visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority on Monday, in response to Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state and ban the entry of a far-right Israeli politician.

“This follows Australia's decision to recognize a ‘Palestinian state’ and against the backdrop of Australia's unjustified refusal to grant visas to a number of Israeli figures, including former Minister Ayelet Shaked and the Chairman of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, MK Simcha Rotman,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on the US social media company X.

On Monday, the Australian government canceled the visa of Rothman, barring him from entry to the country for three years over his open support for displacing Palestinians from Gaza and calling Palestinian children Israel's "enemies.”

Australia had previously denied a visa to former Israeli Interior and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked in November 2024 over her support for illegal settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

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

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry strongly denounced the Israeli move as “an arbitrary measure,” calling the decision “illegal and contradicts the Geneva Conventions, international law and UN resolutions, which do not grant the occupying power such authority.”

“The State of Palestine does not recognize this decision and will continue to treat Australian diplomats as accredited representatives,” it added in a statement.

The ministry said the measure reflects “Israeli arrogance and a state of political imbalance,” stressing that it would only strengthen Australia and other countries’ resolve to “uphold international law, the two-state solution, and recognition of the State of Palestine as the path to peace.”

Australia is set to recognize Palestinian statehood next month at the UN General Assembly.

Several countries, including France, the UK, Malta, Canada, and Portugal, have announced plans to recognize the Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meetings in New York in September.

The recognition comes as Israel has continued a brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, killing over 62,000 people since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.