Palestinian officials hail Australia's reversal on Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Palestinians on Tuesday hailed Australia's decision to reverse its recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital despite fierce criticism by Israel.

"We welcome Australia's decision with regards to Jerusalem & its call for a two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy," the Palestinian Authority's civil affairs minister, Hussein al-Sheikh, said on Twitter.

Sheikh hailed Australia's "affirmation that the future of sovereignty over Jerusalem depends on the permanent solution based on international legitimacy".

We welcome #Australia's decision with regards to #Jerusalem & its call for a two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy and its affirmation that the future of sovereignty over Jerusalem depends on the permanent solution based on international legitimacy (2SS) https://t.co/jAYGDmqe1u

— حسين الشيخ Hussein AlSheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) October 18, 2022

Announcing the change of policy by Australia's centre-left government, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Jerusalem's status should be decided through peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and not through unilateral decisions.

On Tuesday, Wong called the former Australian government's decision a "cynical play" to win Jewish voters ahead of an election.

"I regret that (former Prime Minister) Mr Morrison's decision to play politics resulted in Australia's shifting position, and the distress these shifts have caused to many people in the Australian community who care deeply about this issue," she was quoted as saying by the BBC. 

"We will not support an approach that undermines" a two-state solution, she said, adding: "Australia's embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv."

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described the policy reversal by Australia's centre-left government as a "hasty response".

"Jerusalem is the eternal and united capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that," Lapid said in a statement released by his office.

In 2018 a conservative government led by Scott Morrison followed then-US President Donald Trump's lead in naming west Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

The move caused a domestic backlash in Australia and caused friction with neighbouring Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation - temporarily derailing a free trade deal.

Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 in a move that is not recognised by most of the international community.

The fate of Jerusalem is a centrepiece of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The city is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians, and most foreign governments avoid formally declaring it the capital of any state.