A Palestinian refugee given a visa by the Albanese government to resettle in Australia expressed support for the horrific October 7 Hamas attacks.
Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson James Paterson accused the government of not taking enough care when granting visas after it was revealed more than 2,200 visas have been issued to Palestinians since the outbreak of the Israel Hamas war.
Despite government assurances the visa vetting process has been thorough, Deputy Secretary of Immigration Michael Willard said the medium processing time for approvals was 24 hours with some visas reportedly approved in as little as one hour.
One Palestinian refugee, 21-year-old Zahar Abuamro who is living in Melbourne, on the day of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that saw 1,200 Israelis slaughtered liked a post showing Palestinians celebrating the street, reports Sky News.
‘At this crucial time, we stand alongside our brothers and sisters in Palestine and stress the need to support their cause and work to end the occupation and establish their independent state,’ the post said.
The Albanese government’s visa refugee process is under scrutiny after it was revealed in a Senate estimates hearing that approvals were often done in under a day
Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson James Paterson accused the government of not taking enough care as it was revealed one refugee had expressed support for Hamas
On October 7 Abuamro also liked another post of a picture appearing to show a kidnapped Israeli alongside two Hamas members in army fatigues.
The following day he liked a post showing Hamas paragliders crossing the Israeli border and another post which said: ‘Enter against them through the gate, for when you enter it, you will surely be victorious’.
Abuamro has also launched a crowdfunding page asking people to donate funds to help facilitate his father’s ‘safe and swift relocation from Gaza’.
Following the October 7 terror attacks, Israel launched a retaliation in Gaza which the Palestinian Health Ministry this week said has claimed 29,000 lives.
The United States this week vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, instead calling for an end to fighting ‘as soon as practicable’.
Abuamro told Sky News he did not support the October 7 Hamas attacks and that his account could have been hacked.
On October 7 Abuamro liked a tweet showing Palestinians celebrating in the streets
Abuamro also liked tweets on October 7 and 8 showing a captured Israeli man (left) and Hamas paragliders crossing the Israeli border (right)
In defending the visa approval process, Mr Willard said there was already background information available on the applicants through international cooperation.
‘We apply that vast range of information to consideration of visitor visas, so if you look globally a very large number of our visitor visas would be done inside of an hour,’ he said.
‘The assessment is essentially looking at all the information we hold and applying that in a number of ways.’
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in November when Australia opened the doors to genuine Palestinian refugees: ‘We take the advice of agencies, and the advice I have been given is that all appropriate security checks, character checks and identity checks have been undertaken’.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
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