Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday officially recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but will not immediately take her embassy there.
"Australia now recognizes West Jerusalem, where the Knesset and many government institutions are, the capital of Israel, and we look forward to moving our embassy to West Jerusalem when it is practical," Morrison said in a speech on foreign policy at the Sydney Institute.
The Australian Prime Minister added that his country would not transfer its embassy to West Jerusalem until after the final status of the city, but said that "will open commercial and defense offices there." Noting that work is underway in one of the sites to establish a new headquarters for the Australian Embassy.
He stressed Australia's support for the two-state solution, with East Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine, "What we are saying is that we must push the situation forward.
Morrison said it was in Australia's interest to support "liberal democracy" in the Middle East, criticizing the United Nations, which he described as a place where Israel was "bullying."
As part of the initial reactions to these statements, the Australian Network for the Defense of Palestine expressed regret for the move, which she described as "closing the door to peace."
"Since Israel claims full sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and refuses to abide by UN resolutions demanding that it withdraw from occupied East Jerusalem, we can not give them the opportunity to move freely," said Rev. George Burning, head of the network.
Morrison said in October he was ready to move the embassy. The decision by US President Donald Trump to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May led to a sense of complacency and anger among the Palestinians and the concern of the Arab world and Western allies.
Morrison's surprise announcement last October was ironic, because he came days before crucial partial elections in a constituency with strong Jewish representation, an election his party later lost.
Morrison's change in Australian foreign policy has begun to emerge since October, angering neighboring Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country by population.
This issue led to the suspension of years of negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement.
Canberra told its citizens traveling to Indonesia on Friday to "exercise utmost caution," especially in places that are tourist destinations like Bali, where protests could be organized.
Morrison announced today that Australia would join Russia, Panama and the Czech Republic, which recognizes West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.