A Palestinian refugee who was granted a visa by the Albanian government to resettle in Australia reportedly liked tweets in support of the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7.
Opposition Home Office spokesman James Paterson accused the government of not exercising enough caution in granting visas after it emerged that more than 2,200 visas have been issued to Palestinians since the outbreak of Israel’s Hamas war.
Despite government assurances that the visa control process has been thorough, Deputy Immigration Minister Michael Willard said the average processing time for approvals is 24 hours, with some visas reportedly approved in as little as an hour.
A Palestinian refugee, 21-year-old Zahar Abuamro, who lives in Melbourne, liked a post showing Palestinians celebrating in the streets on the day of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that massacred 1,200 Israelis, reports Sky News.
“At this crucial moment, we stand with our brothers and sisters in Palestine and emphasize the need to support their cause and work to end the occupation and establish their independent state,” the post said.
The Albanian government’s refugee visa process is under close scrutiny after a Senate hearing revealed that approvals were often made within a day
Opposition Home Office spokesman James Paterson accused the government of not being careful enough as it was revealed that a refugee had expressed support for Hamas.
On October 7, Abuamro also liked another post with a photo showing a kidnapped Israeli next to two Hamas members in army uniforms.
The next day, he liked a post showing Hamas paragliders crossing the Israeli border, and another post saying, “Enter against them through the gate, for if you enter it, you will surely prevail.”
Abuamro has also launched a crowdfunding page asking people to donate money to help facilitate his father’s “safe and quick relocation from Gaza.”
After the October 7 terrorist attacks, Israel launched a retaliatory campaign in Gaza, which the Palestinian Health Ministry said this week has claimed 29,000 lives.
The United States this week vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but calling for an end to the fighting “as soon as practicable.”
Abuamro told Sky News that he did not support the October 7 Hamas attacks and that his account may 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)
Defending the visa approval process, Mr Willard said background information on applicants was already available through international cooperation.
“We apply that enormous amount of information to the assessment of visitor visas, so if you look globally, a very large number of our visitor visas would be processed within an hour,” he said.
“The assessment essentially looks at all the information we have and applies it in a number of ways.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in November when Australia opened its doors to genuine Palestinian refugees: “We are following the advice of agencies, and the advice I have received is that all appropriate security checks, character checks and identity checks have been carried out.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.