Former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked denied entry to Australia over ...
The prominent right-wing figure has previously called for the removal of 'all two million' Palestinians from Gaza
Ayelet Shaked is pictured onstage in October 2022 (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
Published date: 22 November 2024 13:48 GMT | Last update: 2 hours 19 min ago
Former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked has been banned from entering Australia over fears of "incitement".
Shaked, a former MP for the far-right Yamina party, was scheduled to appear at a conference hosted by the pro-Israel Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (Aijac).
However, the Australian Department of Home Affairs told the former Israeli justice minister on Thursday that she had been denied a visa to travel to the country under the Migration Act.
The act allows the government to deny entry to individuals likely to "vilify Australians" or "incite discord" within the local community.
Speaking to Israeli media, Shaked claimed that her ban was due to her vocal opposition to a Palestinian state.
"These are dark days for Australian democracy - this government has chosen the wrong side of history," she told Channel 12.
Shaked, a stalwart of Israel's ultra-nationalist and religious Zionist movements, has long been a controversial figure in Israel and abroad.
In October 2023, shortly after the Hamas attacks in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war, Shaked gave an interview to Israel's Channel 13 in which she called for the expulsion of all Palestinians from Gaza.
"We need to use the destruction as an opportunity to encourage other countries to take in a quota of refugees," she said.
"We need all two million to leave. That is the solution for Gaza."
