Australia retracts its declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of “Israel” and Palestine welcomes this

Australia has announced today, Tuesday the 18th of October 2022, the cancellation of its declaration to consider the occupied city of Jerusalem as the capital of “Israel”, reversing the decision it had issued in 2018. This announcement has been widely welcomed by the Palestinians.
WAFA quoted Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong as confirming in a statement today that the 2018 Canberra decision undermined peace and placed  Australia in a position that was out of harmony with the majority of the international community, stressing that Australia supports the establishment of a Palestinian state, and will not “support an approach that undermines this possibility.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh welcomed in a statement today the Australian government’s decision, pointing out that it is in line with international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, and enhances the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state. It is a message to “Israel” that the world does not accept Israeli attempts to annex the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry considered this decision a positive correction to Australia’s position, calling on all countries that made wrong decisions regarding Jerusalem to follow the example of Canberra and retract their previous decisions.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that the Palestinians are waiting for the Australian government to move towards the most important step, which is recognizing the State of Palestine on the June 4, 1967 line, with Jerusalem as its capital.
For his part, the President of the Palestinian National Council Rawhi Fattouh said in a statement today: We highly appreciate this step by the Australian government, and we consider it evidence of the justice of our Palestinian cause and exposing the falsehood of the allegations of the Israeli occupation, noting that Australia’s decision is a message to all countries that deny the right of the Palestinian people to establish their state in full on the Palestinian national territory and with its eternal capital, Jerusalem.
In turn, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi al-Hadmi called on the very few countries that deviated from the international consensus by declaring Jerusalem the capital of “Israel” to follow Australia’s example by reversing their mistakes.
In December 2017, former US President Donald Trump announced occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation entity and moved his country’s embassy there in mid-May 2018, which met with widespread Palestinian and international rejection. In late December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution rejecting Trump’s declaration and asserting that any actions aimed at changing the character of Jerusalem are null and void.

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