SYDNEY — Australia will recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but won’t move its embassy until a peace settlement is reached between Israel and the Palestinians, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday.
Morrison said in a speech that Australia would recognize east Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital only after a settlement has been reached on a two-state solution. The Australian Embassy won’t be moved from Tel Aviv until such a time, he said.
While the embassy move is delayed, Morrison said his government would establish a defense and trade office in Jerusalem and would also start looking for an appropriate site for the embassy.
“The Australian government has decided that Australia now recognizes west Jerusalem, as the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel,” Morrison said.
He said the decision respects both a commitment to a two-state solution and long-standing respect for relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.
There was no comment from Jerusalem on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Morrison had earlier floated the idea that Australia may follow the contentious U.S. move of relocating its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but it was seen by many Australians as a political stunt. Critics called it a cynical attempt to win votes in a by-election in October for a Sydney seat with a high Jewish population.
The consideration sparked backlash from Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, threatening a free trade deal that has been delayed.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said the decision to recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital but not move the embassy there was a “humiliating backdown” from the October by-election campaign.
