SYDNEY, Australia —
Australia said it would no longer recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital Tuesday, a policy reversal that prompted a curt rebuke from Israel but
was cheered by Palestinians.
اضافة اعلان
Foreign Minister
Penny Wong said the city’s status should be decided by Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks, unwinding a contentious decision by the previous conservative
government.
In 2018,
Australia’s then-prime minister
Scott Morrison followed US president Donald
Trump’s lead in unilaterally recognizing West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
The move caused a
domestic backlash in Australia and friction with neighboring Indonesia — the
world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation — temporarily derailing a
bilateral free trade deal.
“I know this has
caused conflict and distress in part of the Australian community, and today the
government seeks to resolve that,” Wong said.
Jerusalem is
claimed by both Israelis and
Palestinians, but most governments avoid putting
embassies there to avoid prejudging the outcome of negotiations for a lasting
peace.
“We will not
support an approach that undermines” a two-state solution, Wong said, adding:
“Australia’s embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv”.
Israeli Prime
Minister Yair Lapid criticized Tuesday’s move — which comes as he prepares to
face a November 1 general election.
Israel annexed East
Jerusalem following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and has declared the entire city
its “eternal and indivisible capital”.
Palestinians claim
East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
The Palestinian
Authority’s civil affairs minister, Hussein Al-Sheikh welcomed the move by
Canberra as an “affirmation” that Jerusalem’s status depends on the outcome of
negotiations.
Indonesia also
welcomed the decision.
“This policy would
hopefully contribute positively to Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations,” the
foreign ministry in Jakarta said.
Wong insisted that
the decision — which has limited practical impact — did not signal any broader
shift in policy or hostility toward Israel.
“Australia will
always be a steadfast friend of Israel. We were amongst the first countries to
formally recognize Israel,” she said.
“We will not waver in our support of Israel and the
Jewish community in Australia. We are equally unwavering in our support of the
Palestinian people, including humanitarian support.”
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