Australia has denied entry to Israeli parliamentarian Simcha Rothman ahead of a planned solidarity visit with the country’s Jewish community, which faces escalating antisemitic attacks, the Australian Jewish Association announced on Monday.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke justified the move by claiming Rothman was coming “to spread a message of hate and division,” Australia’s ABC News reported. However, the AJA confirmed on Monday that one of the written reasons provided by the government for the ban was that Rothman’s statements calling for “the elimination of Hamas … have been received by members of the Australian community as inflammatory and concerning.”

Australia has listed Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organization for financial sanctions since 2001.

In addition to the v

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