Iran Press/ Asia: "Australia now recognizes West Jerusalem (West al-Quds), being the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel”, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in Sydney, Morrison added, "We look forward to moving our embassy to west Jerusalem (west al-Quds) when practical,” Reuters reported.
Morrison said Australia would not move its embassy to West al-Quds until the city’s final status was determined, but said trade and defense offices would be opened there.
He confirmed Australia’s support for a two-state solution with a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem.
“What we are saying is we’ve got to move this forward. The rancid stalemate has to be broken,” he said.
In October 2018, Morrison said he was open to shifting Australia’s embassy from Tel Aviv.
Morrison’s unexpected announcement in October was viewed cynically because it came days before a crucial by-election in an electorate with a strong Jewish representation, a poll his party subsequently lost.
It also drew criticism from Muslim-majority neighbors such as Indonesia and Malaysia, neither of whom formally recognize Israel’s right to exist. Arab countries are worried the move would unnecessarily inflame tensions in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to al-Quds from Tel Aviv in May 2018 delighted Israel, infuriated Palestinians and upset the wider Arab world and Western allies.
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The Zionist regime regards all of al-Quds as its capital, including the eastern sector that it annexed after the 1967 Middle East war, and wants all embassies based there. The international community has largely rejected Israel's claims to al-Quds, supporting the Palestinian view that eastern al-Quds is the capital of a future Palestinian state. 101/ 211 / 210
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