Australia abandons recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

Israel On Tuesday, October 18th, he criticized Australia’s decision not to recognize West Jerusalem as its capital and urgently summoned the Australian ambassador to seek clarification on what the Palestinian Authority has welcomed.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called for Australia’s decision.Hasty response to false press informationwithout specifying informationwrong – wrong – wrongHe was referring to him. “We can only hope that the Australian government treats its other files more seriously and professionallyHe added that the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Australian ambassador during the day.

Peace negotiations

Australia announced on Tuesday that it would no longer recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, reversing a decision made by the previous Conservative government. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the issue of the status of Jerusalem should be resolved through peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people and not through unilateral decisions.

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“We will not support any approach that undermines this perspective‘, she said, adding thatThe Australian Embassy was and still is in Tel AvivOnly four countries have established their embassies in Jerusalem: the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo. Penny Wong insisted that this decision was not a sign of hostility toward Israel.

Our support for Israel

“Australia will always be an unshakable friend of Israel. We were one of the first countries to officially recognize Israel“.”We will not back down from our support for Israel and the Jewish community in Australia. We are also unwavering in our support for the Palestinian people, including our humanitarian supportMinister said.

The centre-left Labor Party has been in power since May in Australia. The previous government of Scott Morrison came under heavy criticism when it announced, in 2018, that it recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This announcement came on the heels of a similar decision by US President Donald Trump.

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For its part, the Palestinian Authority welcomed this reversal. “We welcome Australia’s decision on Jerusalem and its call for a two-state solution… and to ensure that the future sovereignty of Jerusalem depends on a permanent solution based on international legitimacy.Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter.

For the United Nations, the status of Jerusalem should be the subject of an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and in the meantime, countries should not establish their diplomatic representation there with Israel.

The “eternal” and “indivisible” capital

The Jewish state occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed it and considered the entire city its capital.everlasting” And the “indivisibleThe Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of the state they aspire to. However, Canberra’s decision should not come as a surprise to the Israeli government. This retraction was preceded a few days ago by the withdrawal of a press release that appeared on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about West Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

But for Ran Porat, a historian and researcher at Monash University in Melbourne, this could cause uneasiness even if Australia is not a major player in the peace talks. “In the Middle East in general, symbolism is very present in many conflicts. The symbolism is not insignificant, it is not unimportant“.

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Likud, the Israeli opposition party led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could use the decision as evidence of one of the current government’s failures in the run-up to the November 1 elections. Ran Porat added that Prime Minister Yair Lapid would be disappointed, but the response “It must be between difference and not spoil relations with Canberra“.

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