Australia has said it will no longer recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing its previous government’s contentious decision.
Foreign minister Penny Wong on Tuesday said the Labor Party government has agreed to recognise Tel Aviv as the capital and said Jerusalem’s status should be resolved in peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.
“We will not support an approach that undermines” a two-state solution, Ms Wong said. “Australia’s embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv.”
Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid was quick to criticise the Labor party’s decision, calling it a “hasty” foreign policy shift. The Australian ambassador has been summoned to lodge a formal protest, the foreign ministry said.
“We can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally.
“Jerusalem is the eternal and united capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that,” the prime minister said in a statement released by his office.
Jerusalem, claimed by both Jewish Israel and Muslim Palestine, has been one of the biggest diplomatic sore points for world leaders.
Israel considers the entire city, including East Jerusalem which it annexed after the 1967 Six Day War, as its capital, while Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of a future state.
In December 2018, the conservative Scott Morrison government formally recognised West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, even though the Australian embassy remained in Tel Aviv.
Mr Morrison’s declaration followed former US president Donald Trump’s decision to shift the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after endorsing it as Israel’s capital in 2017.
The US embassy remains in Jerusalem even under the Joe Biden administration, as the US steps back from its once-intense mediation between Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr Morrison’s recognition led to a domestic backlash and resulted in friction with Muslim-majority nations.
Ms Wong described the former prime minister’s decision as out of step internationally and a “cynical” attempt to win a by-election at a Sydney beach-side suburb with a substantial Jewish population.
“I know this has caused conflict and distress in part of the Australian community, and today the government seeks to resolve that,” she said. “You know what this was? This was a cynical play, unsuccessful, to win the seat of Wentworth and a by-election.”
Ms Wong insisted 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.”
