The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Qatar welcomed Australia’s announcement to cancel the previous government’s recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli occupation state.
On Monday, October 17, Australia said it will no longer recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing a decision made by the government of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2018.
“Today the Government has reaffirmed Australia’s previous and longstanding position that Jerusalem is a final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed, in a statement, on Wednesday, “the Kingdom’s aspiration for the international community to combine efforts to find a just settlement of the Palestinian issue, in order to achieve the aspirations of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
The ministry reiterated “the Kingdom’s firm position towards the brotherly Palestinian people and its permanent support for its options.”
Qatar
For its part, Qatar considered Australia’s announcement to “support international efforts aimed at achieving a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace.”
The Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement, Tuesday evening, that Qatar looks forward to similar decisions by the countries that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of “Israel”, consistent with international consensus and resolutions of international legitimacy.
The Foreign Ministry warned against unilateral steps that may undermine the principle of the two-state solution.
It reiterated Qatar’s “steadfast position on the justice of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, and the establishment of an independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
In 2018, the former conservative government of Canberra, led by Scott Morrison, officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, after former US President Donald Trump recognized this, and transferred his country’s embassy to it from Tel Aviv.
The Australian decision caused a state of Israeli anger, as Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described it as “hasty deterrence”, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Australian ambassador to it.
Minister of Civil Affairs and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein al-Sheikh on Tuesday welcomed Australia’s decision to stop recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing a decision made by the previous right-wing government in Canberra.
“We value Australia’s decision on Jerusalem and its call for a two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy, and its assertion that the future of sovereignty over Jerusalem depends on the permanent solution based on international legitimacy, which is the two-state solution,” Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter.