Oct. 18 () –
The Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, has reversed on Tuesday the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite the fact that this Monday she had denied in statements collected by local media that the Labor government had made a decision in this regard.
The Australian cabinet has made the decision to reverse the status of Jerusalem this Tuesday morning, hours after the Government insisted that there had been no change in position, since in recent days it had disappeared from the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) the recognition reference of the Israeli capital.
“Today, the Government has reaffirmed Australia’s earlier position that Jerusalem is a final status issue that must be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people. This reverses the Government’s recognition of (former Prime Minister Scott) Morrison that West Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” says a statement from the Australian Ministry on its website.
In this sense, the minister says that Canberra will recognize Tel Aviv as the capital. “The Australian embassy has always been and continues to be in Tel Aviv,” she remarked.
Wong has called Morrison’s 2018 decision an attempt to win votes in the Wentworth by-election.
“I regret that Morrison’s decision to play politics has caused Australia to change its position, as these changes have caused distress to many people in the Australian community who care deeply about this issue,” Wong said in the letter. .
The minister reaffirmed her position on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, indicating that the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has recommitted to international efforts to seek “progress towards a just and lasting two-state solution.”
“Australia is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders,” he said before asserting that they will not support “an approach that undermines this perspective.”
The Australian Conservative government led by Morrison agreed in 2018 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. For its part, the Labor Party –which currently governs the country– included in its electoral program to reverse the recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
