The promise had been made in 2018 by the previous Prime Minister, the curator Scott Morrison, in the footsteps of Donald Trump and for interior policy considerations.
Le Monde
Australia will not finally recognize Jerusalem-Ouest as the capital of the State of Israel, the Australian government announced Tuesday, October 18, returning to a decision taken by the previous Conservative Prime Minister.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said that the question of the status of Jerusalem should be resolved within the framework of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people and not in the context of unilateral decisions. “We will not support an approach that compromises this perspective,” she said, adding that “the Australian Embassy has always been, and remains, Tel Aviv”.
The conservative government of Scott Morrison had been the subject of strong criticisms when, in 2018, he announced to recognize Jerusalem-Ouest as the capital of Israel. He had made this announcement in the wake of a similar decision by American President Donald Trump.
A “cynical” decision of the previous government
“I know that this caused conflicts and disarray in part of the Australian community, and today the government is looking to resolve this,” Wong said on Tuesday. She accused the government of her predecessor of having, at the time, made this “cynical” decision, in an attempt to win, “without success” a crucial by -way election in a suburbs of Sydney where a major Jewish community lives.
The 2018 decision had also caused consternation in neighboring Indonesia – the country with the most Muslims in the world – temporarily derailing a free trade agreement.
Jerusalem is claimed both by the Israelis and the Palestinians. Most foreign nations avoid installing embassies there, for fear of prejudging peace talks over the final status of the city.