Tensions between Israel and Australia are escalating. Tzvi Yehezkeli, senior Middle East commentator and host of "The Arabists" on i24news, may face a visa denial ahead of fundraising events in Australia after past statements in which he suggested that 100,000 Gazans should have been killed and referred to journalists in Gaza as "terror journalists," reports The Guardian.
According to the report, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is considering rejecting Yehezkeli's visa application due to these allegedly inflammatory remarks, potentially barring him from entering the country.
Yehezkeli is scheduled to participate in two events in Sydney and Melbourne next month, supported by the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) and other groups, alongside former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
In a statement, Burke noted that he is still reviewing Yehezkeli’s visa application. "It always surprises me when someone who has made the kind of comments this individual has is already promoting a lecture tour before even securing a visa," he said.
Previously, in his role as a commentator for Channel 13 News, Yehezkeli told the program "HaTzinor that Israel should have responded to the Hamas attack on 7 October with the killing of 100,000 Gazans as a “painful opening strike." “I know not all of those 100,000 would have been Hamas members," he added, at a time when he estimated that Hamas had around 20,000 members remaining in the besieged territory.