Australia pulls recognition of Jerusalem as capital, angering Israel
Jerusalem #Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — Israel reacted with fury Tuesday to Australia’s announcement that it will no longer recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing a controversial diplomatic move made four years ago by the previous conservative government.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Australian ambassador Tuesday to explain the policy shift, which was announced after two days of contradictory messages on the issue from Canberra. Only hours after officials denied that the change was imminent, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that Australia would not move its embassy to Jerusalem until Israelis and Palestinians came to a permanent agreement on the disputed capital.
“Today the Government has reaffirmed Australia’s previous and long-standing position that Jerusalem is a final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people,” Wong said in a statement. “Australia’s embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv.”
Israelis were withering in their criticism of the move and of the confused way it became public. An Australian newspaper reported over the weekend that language on Jerusalem’s status had been changed on government websites.
“In light of the way in which this decision was made in Australia, as a hasty response to an incorrect report in the media, we can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. “Jerusalem is the eternal and united capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that.”
Most countries have refrained from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and persuading governments to move their embassies there has been a foreign policy priority for Israel.
Australia appears to be the first of the countries that have recognized Jerusalem to backtrack. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was unable to say how many countries recognize the city and whether any have reversed course.
The Australian decision reversed a 2018 move by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a conservative ally of President Donald Trump, to recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, although the embassy stayed in Tel Aviv. The Morrison government lost the federal election to Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese in May.
Young Palestinians arm themselves for a new era of violent resistance
Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem, a holy city to Jews and Muslims, as their capital. The city is roughly divided between Jewish neighborhoods in the west and Arab sections in the east. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1980, a move that is not recognized by most of the international community.
The “final status” has been one of the most contentious flash points in the decades-long conflict between the two sides. For most of that time, other countries remained neutral, setting their embassies in the coastal city of Tel Aviv even though Israel’s parliament and prime minister’s office are an hour’s drive away, in Jerusalem.
In 2017, Trump broke with that diplomatic consensus and announced that Washington would formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Australia, along with Guatemala and Kosovo, eventually followed suit, although Australia stipulated that it was recognizing only West Jerusalem.
President Biden has declined to reverse Trump’s decision, although most U.S. diplomatic staffers are still based in Tel Aviv and Washington has not announced specific plans for a new embassy in Jerusalem.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss has been criticized by some in the United Kingdom for launching a “review” of the country’s Jerusalem policy, fulfilling a pledge she made during her leadership campaign over the summer. The archbishop of Canterbury, among other religious and political leaders, urged her to maintain London’s policy that Jerusalem should be the shared capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state.
Wong told reporters Tuesday that Morrison’s change was a “cynical play” to win votes in an election in a Sydney area where the conservatives were fielding a Jewish candidate.
She said the reversal did not represent any lessening in Australia’s longtime stance as “a steadfast friend of Israel.”
“This Government will not waver in its support of Israel and the Jewish community in Australia,” Wong said in the statement. “We are equally unwavering supporters of the Palestinian people, providing humanitarian support every year since 1951 and advocating for resumed peace negotiations.”
Rachel Pannett in Sydney contributed to this report.