\u2018Country is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state co exist\u2019
\nANKARA
\nAustralia stepped back from its earlier decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and quietly dropped its recognition, according to media reports.
\nAustralian Foreign Ministry retained the bipartisan position that Australia \u201cis committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state co\u2011exist, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders,\u201d The Guardian newspaper reported.
\nIn 2018, then-prime minister Scott Morrison\u2019s government said it will recognise West Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital, but will not move its embassy from Tel Aviv until a peace settlement is reached.
\nThe Morrison government also included it in the Australian policy about Israel which is now deleted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s government, which came into power in May.
\n\u201cThe Australian government continues to consider the final status of Jerusalem as a matter to be resolved as part of any peace negotiations,\u201d the daily quoted a spokesperson for the Australian Foreign Ministry as saying.
\nHowever, in 2018, the incumbent Foreign Minister Penny Wong also opposed Morrison\u2019s decision and said Labor \u201cdoes not support unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and in government would reverse this decision,\u201d according to the report.
\nIn 2017, then-US president Donald Trump officially recognised Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital, reversing decades of the US policy of remaining neutral on the holy city.
\nThe US move has triggered widespread protests in the Palestinian territories and several countries amid condemnations from Arab and Muslim countries.
\nWashington\u2019s European allies have also criticised the move, warning that the US decision would worsen relations between Palestinians and Israelis as well as spark unrest in the region.
\nIsrael occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as Israel\u2019s \u201ceternal\u201d capital \u2013 a move never recognised by the international community.
\nInternational law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as \u201coccupied territory\u201d and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land to be illegal.
\nPalestinians accuse Israel of waging an aggressive campaign to \u201cJudaize\u201d the historic city by effacing its Arab and Islamic identity and driving out its Palestinian inhabitants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Country is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state co exist\u2019 ANKARA Australia stepped back from its earlier decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and quietly dropped its recognition, according to media reports. Australian Foreign Ministry retained the bipartisan position that Australia \u201cis committed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-289951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n