Australia has announced that it has officially renounced its recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing a decision made by Morrison’s Conservative government in 2018. In 2018, the previous government, led by Scott Morrison, officially recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in deviation from the Australian customs followed for decades in the Middle East, after former US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv
“Jerusalem is a final status issue that must be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people,” Secretary of State Penny Wong said in a statement. We will not support an approach that undermines this possibility,” stressing that “the Australian embassy has always been, and still is, in Tel Aviv.”
In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that it would summon the Australian ambassador in the coming hours and provide an official response to this step. Israeli sources indicated that the decision surprised the Israeli officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially since the official in the Middle East region in the Australian Foreign Ministry had told them that there would be no change in his country’s position on Jerusalem.
Most countries refuse to transfer their embassies to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as long as the two-state solution is not implemented and a Palestinian state is not established with East Jerusalem as its capital.
