Sydney: Australia said on Tuesday it would no longer recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing a controversial decision by the former Conservative government.
Foreign Minister 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”, he said, adding: “Australia’s embassy has always been in Tel Aviv, and will remain”.
In 2018, a conservative government led by Scott Morrison followed former US President Donald Trump’s lead in designating West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The move sparked a domestic backlash in Australia and friction with neighboring Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country – temporarily derailing the free trade agreement.
Jerusalem is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians, and most foreign governments avoid recognizing it as the capital of either state.
“I know this has caused controversy and concern in part of the Australian community, and today the government is trying to address that,” Wong said.
He accused the Morrison government of encouraging by-elections in a Sydney beachside suburb with a large Jewish community.
“You know what it was? It was a poor play, to win Wentworth’s seat and a by-election.”
The centre-left Labor Party, with Anthony Albany as Prime Minister and Wong as Foreign Minister, came to power in May 2022.
Wong insisted that the decision did not indicate any hostility toward Israel.
“Australia will always be a staunch friend of Israel. We were among the first countries to formally recognize Israel,” he said.
“We will not waver in our support for the Jewish community in Israel and Australia. We are equally unwavering in our support for the Palestinian people, including humanitarian aid.”
Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, declaring the entire city its “eternal and indivisible capital”.
Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Symbolism
Canberra’s decision is unlikely to come as a shock to the Israeli government.
The policy change was foreshadowed by the removal of the Israeli capital language on the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
But it will likely cause anxiety, according to Ran Porat, a historian and researcher at Monash University in Melbourne.
Although Australia is not a major player in the peace talks, he said: “Symbolism is at the heart of many conflicts in the Middle East in general.
The move could be seen as evidence of the government’s failings ahead of the Nov. 1 election on Israel’s opposition Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Yair Lepid will be disappointed, Porat added, but the response “must be between the differences and not damage relations with Canberra.”
