Australia rejects moving embassy to Jerusalem

Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv

YNET reports, “Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Saturday that her country would not follow US’s footsteps and move its embassy to Jerusalem, despite her Liberal Party’s support of the move, reported by the Guardian. According to the Guardian, the Liberal party’s youth arm had called on the government to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel’s legislative capital, and to suspend all aid to Palestine ‘until it terminates its ‘Martyr’s fund.’ The motion, which is non-binding, was carried in a vote 43 to 31, but the foreign minister said there was no chance the government would adopt it as policy.”…

“According to Bishop, ‘Jerusalem is a final status issue and we have maintained that position for decades and we are doing all we can do to ensure that any support we give to the Palestinian Authority is only used for purposes that we determine.’ Regarding the party’s call to suspend any funds given to the Palestinians, the foreign affair minister said, ‘Our funding to the Palestinian Authority is subject to a memorandum of understanding, defining precisely how it is used and subject to very close audit to ensure that no funds are diverted to the so-called Martyr’s fund….Despite Bishop’s remarks, Australia is considered one of Israel’s biggest supporters. Australia was one of the eight countries that voted against the resolution submitted to the UN General Assembly to condemn Israel. ” (more…)