Jerusalem’s final status should be clarified in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people, Australian Foreign Secretary Penny Wong said on Tuesday. “We do not support any approach that undermines this perspective,” Wong said. Israel reacted sharply to the decision.
Australian Embassy remains in Tel Aviv
The conservative previous government of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison followed a decision by then-US President Donald Trump in 2018: Despite international protests, the Republican recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and had the US embassy moved there. Morrison, for his part, had been criticized in Australia for his decision. Then the centre-left Labor Party government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, took power in Australia in May 2022. Foreign Minister Wong now said on the capital issue: “The Australian embassy has always been and will remain in Tel Aviv.”
Jair Lapid takes a stand
Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid called Australia’s decision a “hasty response”. “We can only hope that the Australian government will take other matters more seriously and professionally,” Lapid said in a statement. Jerusalem is “the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that,” he added.
The Palestinian Authority’s Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed Australia’s decision. It is a “confirmation that the future of sovereignty over Jerusalem depends on a lasting solution based on international legitimacy,” the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) wrote on Twitter.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, later annexed it and declared the entire city an “eternal and indivisible capital”. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Most states do not have their embassies in Jerusalem, so as not to prejudge a possible outcome of peace negotiations.
Australian Foreign Secretary Wong assured that the current decision does not mean a change in policy towards Israel. “Australia will always be a loyal friend of Israel,” she confirmed.
Israel’s foreign ministry said it had subpoenaed the Australian ambassador to file a formal protest.
(AFP)