Australia reverses its decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Penny Wong, Australia’s Foreign Minister, holds a meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at
According to Penny Wong, Canberra is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state live peacefully.
She said the government has recommitted Australia to international efforts in the responsible pursuit of progress toward a two-state solution.
Australia reversed decades of Middle Eastern policy by recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2018.
SYDNEY – Australia overturned a previous government decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Tuesday, saying the city’s status should be settled via peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian people.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Australia “will always be a firm friend of Israel” and that Australia is dedicated to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state live peacefully within internationally recognised boundaries.
In a statement, she said the government “recommits Australia to international efforts in the responsible pursuit of progress toward a fair and lasting two-state solution.”
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison changed decades of Middle East policy in December 2018, declaring that Australia recognised West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital but will not relocate its embassy there immediately.
Former US President Donald Trump had recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a year ago.
Wong said to reporters Morrison’s 2018 decision “placed Australia out of sync with the bulk of the international community,” according to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority neighbour.
“I regret Mr Morrison’s choice to play politics, as well as the misery these adjustments have caused to many individuals in the Australian community who care strongly about this subject,” she added.
Morrison first mentioned transferring the embassy from Tel Aviv in 2018, just days before a by-election in a Sydney seat with a sizable Jewish population, which his Liberal Party lost.
On Monday, The Guardian reported that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website had been updated to remove text referring to west Jerusalem as the capital.
Wong said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet made the decision on Tuesday.
Morrison’s Liberal-led coalition was defeated in a national election in May, resulting in the restoration of a Labor administration for the first time in nine years.
The Israeli embassy in Canberra was closed on Tuesday and did not reply quickly to a request for comment.
