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Australia officially withdraws recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

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The Australian government has officially withdrawn its recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing a 2018 decision by the previous government, Foreign Minister, Penny Wong said on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting.

The Australian center-left Labor Party which took over power from the conservative government agreed to again recognize Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel and reaffirmed that Jerusalem’s status must be resolved in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Australia remained committed to a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and we will not support an approach that undermines this prospect,” Wong said.

“Australia’s embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv,” she added.

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After a meeting last week, Wong had denied that there was a policy change, saying that “the former government made the decision to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel” and that “no decision to change that has been made by the present government.”

But hours later, the she said the decision four years ago by a conservative government led by Scott Morrison “caused conflict and distress in part of the Australian community, and today the government seeks to resolve that,” Wong said on Tuesday.

Wong accused the Morrison government of being motivated by a crucial by-election in a beach-side Sydney suburb with a sizable Jewish community. “You know what this was? This was a cynical play, unsuccessful, to win the seat of Wentworth and a by-election,” she said.

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