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Australia recognises west Jerusalem as capital of Israel
SYDNEY, Dec 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Australia now recognises west Jerusalem
as Israel’s capital, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Saturday, but a
contentious embassy shift from Tel Aviv will not occur until a peace
settlement is achieved.
Canberra became one of just a few governments around the world to follow US
President Donald Trump’s lead and recognise the contested city as Israel’s
capital, but Morrison also committed to recognising a future state of
Palestine with east Jerusalem as its capital.
“Australia now recognises west Jerusalem — being the seat of the Knesset
and many of the institutions of government — is the capital of Israel,”
Morrison said in a speech in Sydney.
Both Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital.
Most foreign nations avoided moving embassies there to prevent inflaming
peace talks on the city’s final status — until Trump unilaterally moved the
US embassy there earlier this year.
“We look forward to moving our embassy to west Jerusalem when practical, in
support of and after final status of determination,” Morrison said, adding
that work on a new site for the embassy was under way.
In the interim, the prime minister said, Australia would establish a
defence and trade office in the west of the holy city.
“Furthermore, recognising our commitment to a two-state solution, the
Australian government is also resolved to acknowledge the aspirations of the
Palestinian people for a future state with its capital in east Jerusalem,” he
added.
Morrison first floated a shift in foreign policy in October, which angered
Australia’s immediate neighbour Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim
nation.
The issue has put a halt on years-long negotiations on a bilateral trade
deal.
MORE/MR/ 1210 hrs
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Canberra on Friday told its citizens travelling to Indonesia to “exercise a
high degree of caution”, warning of protests in the capital Jakarta and
popular holiday hotspots, including Bali.
Morrison pointed to Australia’s military history in the region, and the
country’s interest in a “rules-based” order in the Middle East, to support
the shift in foreign policy.
The prime minister vowed Australia would no longer abstain from UN
resolutions he said “attacked” Israel, but would instead oppose them,
including the “Jerusalem” resolution, which asks nations not to locate
diplomatic missions to the holy city.
“The UN General Assembly is now the place where Israel is bullied and where
anti-Semitism is cloaked in language about human rights,” Morrison said.
– ‘All risk and no gain’ –
The Jerusalem decision could help the embattled Australian PM — who faces
the prospect of an election drubbing next year — with Jewish and
conservative Christian voters and win him friends in the White House.
The opposition Labor party slammed Morrison for putting “self-interest
ahead of the national interest”.
“Recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, while continuing to locate
Australia’s embassy in Tel Aviv, is nothing more than a face saving
exercise,” shadow minister for foreign affairs Penny Wong said in a
statement.
“This is a decision which is all risk and no gain,” she said, adding it
puts Australia “out of step” with the international community.
Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv last May prompted
tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters to approach the heavily-protected
Israeli border. At least 62 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire that
day.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously hailed Morrison’s
initiative.
The Palestinian government will press for Arab and Muslim states to
“withdraw their ambassadors” and take some “meat and wheat” style “economic
boycott measures” over Canberra’s decision, Palestinian ambassador to
Australia Izzat Abdulhadi told AFP Friday.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) on Saturday said Morrison’s
move “serves no Australian interest”.
“This sabotages any real possibility for a future just agreement and
further emboldens Israel to continue with its daily human rights violations
of Palestinians,” APAN president Bishop George Browning said in a statement.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1210 hrs