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Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was willing to move the Australian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Key points:
- Scott Morrison said that he was open to the idea of changing embassy after meeting with the Liberal Party candidate in Wentworth.
- Nearly 13% of voters in Wentworth are Jewish
- The government must win the seat to retain its majority of a seat in the lower house
This decision would follow the United States, which overturned decades of foreign policy by opening an embassy in Jerusalem this year.
The US decision infuriated Palestinians and other countries in the Middle East because Palestinians wanted to one day establish their own capital in Jerusalem.
The announcement by Mr. Morrison followed talks with former candidate-ambassador to Israel's Wentworth by-election, Dave Sharma, in this week's Wentworth by-election. -end.
In Wentworth, nearly 13 percent of voters are Jewish and the government must win the seat to retain its majority of a seat in the lower house.
In June, Mr. Morrison, treasurer of the time, said that there was no reason to believe that the Liberal Party would support the move of the Embassy of Australia.
The fact that Mr. Morrison is considering a relocation contrasts with the position of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said that US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would not change the Australia's relations in the region.
The former Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, has also shown herself opposed to this idea despite strong support for a move from the party base.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not hesitate to thank Mr. Morrison for taking the measure of this decision and tweeted that he had spoken to his Australian counterpart.
Prime Minister remains firm on two-state solution
Morrison will today unveil a foreign policy statement on Israel, but does not change the government's position in favor of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It should announce a strengthening of security ties with Israel by placing defense ties in the respective embassies. It is also expected to open an investigation into whether Australia should abandon its support for the Iranian nuclear deal, from which the United States withdrew.
The announcement by Mr. Morrison coincides with the decision to vote against a UN resolution recognizing the Palestinian Authority to chair the G77 nations group next year.
The prime minister was persuaded to consider moving the embassy after talks with Sharma.
Mr Sharma expressed his support for an embassy decision if this could be done in the context of the two-state solution that Australia supports.
At the 2016 census, Jews represented about 12.5% of the Wentworth population, a seat that became vacant as a result of Turnbull's resignation.
Labor previously said that the US Embassy's move to Jerusalem was of no benefit to the peace process in the region.
Topics:
unrest-conflict-and-war
l & # 39; history,
politics and government,
Government and politics,
world politics,
Australia,
Israel,
Occupied Palestinian Territory
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