(JNS) The Labor Party-led Australian government on Tuesday officially revoked the country’s recognition of western Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, confirming a Guardian report the previous day revealing that Canberra had walked back the language adopted by former Liberal Party prime minister Scott Morrison.
The Australian Cabinet instead agreed that Jerusalem’s eventual status must be resolved via peace negotiations with the Palestinians that lead to a two-state solution.
“We will not support an approach that undermines this prospect,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong was quoted by the Associated Pressas saying on Tuesday.
The Labor Party, with Anthony Albanese as prime minister and Wong as the top diplomat, rose to power in May 2022.
According to Monday’s Guardian report, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently dropped the following two lines of text from its website:
“Consistent with this longstanding policy, in December 2018, Australia recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, being the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of the Israeli government.
“Australia looks forward to moving its embassy to West Jerusalem when practical, in support of, and after the final status determination of, a two-state solution.”
The lines were deleted after the Guardian Australia asked the current government questions about the matter.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid denounced Canberra’s move, saying in a statement:
“Jerusalem is the eternal undivided capital of Israel and nothing will change that.
“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.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that it would summon Australia’s ambassador over the issue.
How biblically and historically ignorant can a first world nation be? Australia must know that Transjordan was divided into Arab and Jewish territories. Aussies were in the forces that liberated Transjordan from the Turks. They saw that the Arabs were given 70% of that land to settle and named their country Jordan. The Jews got 30% and named their country Israel. Even that was raided by Jordan and her allies and still gets called the West Bank.
Jordan had to kick out the PLO for trying to take them over, remember Black September? The PLO, PA, PIJ, Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have no interest in running a country, just look at Gaza. They exist to both destroy Israel and to impose extreme Islamic regimes on Arabs.
Australia falls foul of Israel and the Lord by seeking to divide the land, Joel 3:2. Their support of Palestinian terrorism to destroy Israel is a stain on their character. Neither Arafat or Abbas have honoured Oslo or other agreements they’ve made. What a disappointing report.
I live in Australia, I have forwarded your comment to Penny Wong.
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