Ayelet Shaked denied entry into Australia because of opposition to Palestinian state

Shaked characterized the incident as ‘A black day for Australian democracy.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Former Justice and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked was denied entry into Australia on Thursday because of her opposition to a Palestinian State, Ynet reports.

Shaked was scheduled to “participate in a strategic dialogue between the countries at the AIJAC conference.”

Shaked said Australia’s ruling Labour Party’s decision was “clear evidence of its hypocrisy and its hostile attitude towards Israel.”

She added that Australia’s government claims to be a democracy and yet “works to control the voices of those opposed to its extreme pro-Palestinian agenda.”

Shaked characterized the incident as “A black day for Australian democracy.”

Australia’s Labour government has offered 3,000 visit visas to Palestinians leaving Gaza and Judea and Samaria while conservative lawmakers have opposed the move, citing security risks and potential terrorism.

In mid-November, Australia voted with 158 other countries in favor of permanent Palestinian sovereignty in territories such as East Jerusalem.

This is the first time Australia has voted to support Palestinian sovereignty since the resolution was introduced around twenty years ago.

The resolution recognizes the “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.”

The UK and New Zealand also voted for the resolution, while seven countries, including the US, Canada, and Israel, voted against it and 11 abstained.

A spokesman for Australia’s Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, said that the vote reflected concern about “ongoing settlement activity, land dispossession, demolitions and settler violence against Palestinians.”

“We have been clear that such acts undermine stability and prospects for a two-state solution,” the spokesperson said.

“This resolution recalls UN security council resolutions that reaffirm the importance of a two-state solution that has had bipartisan support.”

In another draft resolution, Australia demanded that Israel compensate Lebanon for its role in a 2006 oil spill.