Israel angered by Australia's U-turn on recognition of Jerusalem
An Israeli flag flies over the city of Jerusalem in Israel, with a view of the domes of the Our Lady of the Spasm Armenian Catholic Church and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
© Nick Brundle Photography / GettyImage
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In 2018, Australia recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Canberra has just reversed this decision, taken at the time by former Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The Labor Party, now in power in Australia, believes that the question of the status of Jerusalem, "
must be resolved within the framework of peace negotiations, between Israel and the Palestinian people, and not unilaterally
".
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From our correspondent in Jerusalem
,
Sami Boukhelifa
The reaction of the Israeli Prime is in a few lines.
Yaïr Lapid does not mince his words.
He accuses the Australian authorities of having taken a "
hasty " decision in response to "
erroneous
" press information
.
But at no time does he specify what he is referring to.
Yaïr Lapid, also the Hebrew state's chief diplomat, unleashes his blows.
“
We can only wish the Australian government that it handles its other files in a more serious and professional manner
,” he concludes.
In the process, the Australian ambassador to Israel is summoned for explanations.
The Palestinian Authority, for its part, welcomes the Australian reversal.
And above all “
Australia's call for the two-state solution
”.
This is the consensus advocated by the international community.
Because whatever the Jewish state says, East Jerusalem is well occupied and illegally annexed.
To make Jerusalem the sole and indivisible capital of Israel is to contravene international legality.
The former Australian government's decision to recognize West Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2018
followed a similar decision by then-US President Donald Trump
.
►
To read also:
In Israel, the fear of seeing the British embassy transferred to Jerusalem
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