Israel vexed as Australia reverses recognition of 'capital' Jerusalem

W460

Australia said it would no longer recognize west Jerusalem as Israel's capital Tuesday, a policy reversal that prompted a curt rebuke from the Jewish state but was cheered by Palestinians. 

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 U.S. 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.

"We can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally," he said.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem following the Six-Day War of 1967, and has declared the entire city its "eternal and indivisible capital".

Palestinians claim the eastern sector 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.

Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, called it "a step in the right direction."

Indonesia also welcomed the decision. 

"This policy would hopefully contribute positively to Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations," the foreign ministry in Jakarta said.

- Steadfast friend -

Wong insisted that the decision -- which has limited practical impact -- did not signal any broader shift in policy or hostility towards Israel.

"Australia will always be a steadfast friend of Israel. We were amongst the first countries to formally recognise 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."

The center-left Labor party, with Anthony Albanese as prime minister and Wong as foreign minister, came to power in May 2022 after strongly opposing the previous government's Jerusalem policy.

Wong accused the Morrison government of making the Jerusalem decision to influence a by-election in a Sydney suburb with a sizeable Jewish community.

"You know what this was? This was a cynical play, unsuccessful, to win the seat of Wentworth and a by-election," she said.

- Symbolism -

Canberra's shift was foreshadowed by the removal of language about the Israeli capital from the website of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Although Australia is not a major player in peace talks, Ran Porat, a historian and researcher at Melbourne's Monash University, said the move was significant.

"In the Middle East in general, symbolism is very much at the center of many conflicts. Symbolism is not negligible, it's not unimportant."

Porat added that the move could be seized on by Israel's opposition Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, as evidence of the government's failings ahead of next month's election.

Netanyahu tweeted Tuesday that it was "no surprise" Australia made the decision while Lapid was in power, condemning the premier for supporting Palestinian statehood in an address to the UN General Assembly last month.  

Comments 4
Thumb EagleDawn 18 October 2022, 14:12

Thank you @the_roar! It is your relentless efforts as a devout Shia living in Australia that led the Australian government to reverse its decision. Keep the flag of wilayat al faqih flying high.

Thumb i.report 18 October 2022, 14:13

Not enough, you need to arm the Palestinians just like you arm the ukranians.

Missing Cheesecake 19 October 2022, 04:37

All of Jerusalem belongs to Palestine and can never be divided. Almost all jews living there are foreigners who were brought in by britain (a minority were foreigners that were allowed to move to palestine during the late 1800) and those brought in after the state of israel was formed. The palestinian jews who were native to the land were a tiny minority. Orientalists who went to jerusalem and palestine reported that they barely saw any jews there unlike the "arabs" as they referred to the muslims and christians who they saw all over the place. Take out the russian jews, polish jews, iranian jews, yemeni jews, morrocan jews and the rest of the ashkenazi, sephardi and mizrahi immigrants and who will remain? Not even 1 %. Recognizing any part of jerusalem as israel is a crime.

Missing phillipo 19 October 2022, 12:38

I'm quite sure that Jesus, born a Jew, was there 600+ years before Mohammad on Buraq.
Coming to nearer our times, even if the Arabs had accepted the UN General Assemby resolution on 27th November 1947 for the establishment of two states, there remained Jerusalem and Bethlehem which were to become an international zone, so even then it was not to be Palestinian.
From 1948 to 1967 there also was no Palestine, The West Bank was part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Gaza Strip was part of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
It was only in the 1970's that an Egyptian by the name of Yasser Arafat dreamed up the idea of a Palestinian State.