Australia has revoked the visa of Israeli MP Simha Rothman from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition. Rothman, who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and calls for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, was due to visit Sydney and Melbourne this month at the invitation of a local conservative Jewish organization, „Reuters“ reported, BTA reports.
Australia is among the countries set to recognise a Palestinian state next month, a move Rothman called "a grave mistake and a huge reward for Hamas and terror".
He said the visa was revoked because of statements the Australian government considered inflammatory, including a claim that Palestinian statehood would lead to the destruction of Israel and a call for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank. "Nothing I have said is different from the positions of the vast majority in Israel and the government", Rothman said.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the country was taking a firm stance against attempts to spread hatred and division. "Anyone who comes with such messages is not welcome. "Australia will be a country where everyone can be and feel safe," he stressed, without going into specific details about the case.
Rotman, who chairs a parliamentary committee on judicial affairs, was invited by the Australian Jewish Association. According to its executive director Robert Gregory, the purpose of the visit was to show solidarity with the Jewish community in Australia, which is facing a wave of anti-Semitism, as well as to meet with victims of such acts.