Australia Won't Recognise Jerusalem As Israel Capital In Big Policy U-Turn

Australian Foreign minister Penny Wong said the city's status should be decided through peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and not through unilateral decisions.

Australia announced on Tuesday that it would no longer recognize West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, reversing a controversial decision by the previous Conservative government.

Secretary of State Penny Wong said the city's status should be decided through peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, not through unilateral decisions.

"We will not support an approach that undermines the 'two-state solution'," she said, adding that "the Australian embassy has always been and remains in Tel Aviv."

In 2018, a Conservative government led by Scott Morrison followed in the footsteps of former US President Donald Trump in naming West Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The move caused an internal backlash in Australia and caused friction with neighboring Indonesia -

The largest Muslim-majority country by population - temporarily disrupting the free trade agreement.

Jerusalem is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians, and most foreign governments avoid officially declaring it the capital of any country.

"I know this has caused conflict and crisis in a part of Australian society, and today the government is seeking to resolve that," Wong said.

Morrison's government was accused of being spurred on by a by-election in a Sydney beachside suburb with a large Jewish community.

“Do you know what this was? This was a satirical, failed play,

to win the Wentworth seat and by-election.”

The center-left Labor Party, with Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister and Wong as Secretary of State, came to power in May 2022.

Wong insisted that the decision did not indicate any hostility to Israel.

"Australia will always be a strong friend of Israel.

"We were among the first countries to officially recognize Israel," she added.

"We will not waver in our support for Israel and the Jewish community in Australia. We are equally unwavering in our support for the Palestinian people, including humanitarian support."

Israel occupied Arab East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it.

Declaring the entire city its "eternal and indivisible capital".

The Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

symbolism

The Canberra decision is unlikely to come as a shock to the Israeli government.

The policy reversal was alerted by the removal of the language from the Israeli capital on the website of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

But that is likely to cause concern, according to Ran Porat, a historian and researcher at Monash University in Melbourne.

Although Australia is not a major player in peace talks,

He said, "In the Middle East in general, symbolism is at the heart of many conflicts. Symbolism is not neglected, it is not unimportant."

The move on the opposition Israeli Likud party led by Benjamin Netanyahu could be used as evidence of the government's failures ahead of the November 1 elections.

BY
ProBuzzFeed