Proper security checks for Palestinian refugees are ‘clearly impossible’

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is “quite right” in his comments on Gazans seeking temporary visas. Debate has continued to ramp up this week, with Mr Dutton demanding an outright ban on granting visas to Palestinians from Gaza. “It is clearly impossible to do proper security checks on people in Gaza – the Australian government doesn’t have any officials in Gaza – it’s just not possible to do the required checks,” Mr Downer said. “If you were going to get the Gazan authorities to do the checks, well you’d be asking Hamas to do the checks.”