SYDNEY: Facing a domestic backlash and the threat of foreign trade retaliation, Australia’s Prime Minister on Tuesday appeared to slow-peddle a controversial decision to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem, saying he would first consult with allies.
As Scott Morrison stood accused of ditching 70 years of Australian foreign policy and reports emerged that Indonesia may suspend a planned bilateral trade deal, the prime minister told parliament no firm decision had been taken.
Hours after first floating the idea, Morrison said he would “canvass views” from regional leaders about the decision to follow US President Donald Trump’s lead and move the embassy from Tel Aviv “before the government forms a particular view on this issue.”
Jerusalem is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. Most foreign nations have avoided locating embassies there for fear of prejudging peace talks on the city’s final status — until Trump unilaterally moved the US embassy there earlier this year.
Officials said the decision to move the Australian embassy has been under consideration for months. But Morrison’s announcement was timed to coincide with a make-or-break moment for his fledgling premiership.
On Saturday voters in a key Sydney electorate will go to the polls, with Morrison’s Liberal party candidate, a former ambassador to Israel, trailing in the final stretch.
Defeat for Morrison’s candidate — in a constituency with a sizeable Jewish population — would spell the end of his government’s parliamentary majority and a bleak future for his months-old stint at the top of Australia’s rough-and-tumble political heap.
Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Morrison’s initiative, the response from neighboring Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim nation — was less welcoming.
Australia would be “violating international law” and UN security council resolutions if it proceeded with the embassy move, said Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki, who was in Jakarta on an official visit Tuesday.
“Australia is risking (its) trade and business relationship with the rest of the world and particularly the Muslim world,” he added.
“I hope that Australia would reconsider that decision before it takes such action for election purposes.”
Australian state-backed broadcaster ABC reported a senior official in Jakarta saying a landmark trade deal between the two countries may now be put on ice.
Officials from Indonesia’s foreign and trade ministries told AFP they were unaware of any plans to suspend talks on the agreement, but Morrison indicated he had discussed the issue with President Joko Widodo in a series of calls.
“We will continue to work closely and cooperatively with our allies and our partners all around the world on these issue,” Morrison told parliament.
Morrison earlier said he was “open-minded” to “sensible” proposals to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move his nation’s embassy to the holy city, a sharp break with the policy of successive Australian governments.
“We’re committed to a two-state solution, but frankly it hasn’t been going that well, not a lot of progress has been made, and you don’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results,” Morrison said.
“Scott Morrison is now so desperate to hang on to his job, he is prepared to say anything if he thinks it will win him a few more votes -– even at the cost of Australia’s national interest,” said opposition Labor party foreign policy spokeswoman Penny Wong.
Morrison came to power in August after a revolt by hard-line conservatives in the Liberal party ousted his more moderate predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull’s government had explicitly distanced itself from the decision by Trump to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, branding it “unhelpful” to the peace process.
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Australia hesitates as Jerusalem embassy move draws fire
Australia hesitates as Jerusalem embassy move draws fire
- 13 Arab ambassadors met in Canberra over Australian PM's announcement to potentially recognize Jerusalem
- Egypt's ambassador said Australia's decision "might damage the peace process"
Australia seeks charges over a 2024 Israeli airstrike in Gaza that killed an Australian aid worker
- Australian Zomi Frankcom was one of four aid workers killed by an Israeli drone on April 1, 2024
MELBOURNE: Australia is demanding criminal charges over a 2024 Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy in Gaza that killed seven people, including an Australian aid worker, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday in a case that has drawn sweeping condemnation and strained relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he conveyed the request to visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting earlier in the day.
Australian Zomi Frankcom was one of four World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by an Israeli drone on April 1, 2024. The other aid workers were an American-Canadian dual citizen, a Palestinian and a Polish national. Three British security staff were also killed in the same airstrike.
There was no immediate response on Albanese’s request from Herzog, who visited the national capital, Canberra, on Wednesday after spending two days in Sydney, where he comforted Jews reeling from an antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in December that left 15 dead.
Herzog’s visit triggers controversy
Though Australia’s major political parties largely back Herzog’s visit, Albanese spoke in Parliament on Wednesday to several lawmakers who opposed it, accusing the Israeli leader of inciting genocide in Gaza and inflaming community tensions within Australia.
The prime minister defended the visit and said it was an opportunity to “raise the issue” of the killed aid workers.
“That’s one of the reasons why you have dialogue in a respectful way; to get outcomes and to advance Australia’s national interests,” he told Parliament.
Four months after the aid convoy strike, an Australian inquiry found the airstrike resulted from procedural failures and errors on the part of the Israeli military.
Albanese said it was a “tragedy and an outrage” and that he made clear Australia’s “expectation that there be transparency about Israel’s ongoing investigation into the incident.”
“We continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges,” he added.
Israel’s president describes a ‘very emotional’ visit
Herzog told reporters that his visit has been “very emotional” in the wake of the suffering the Bondi massacre had caused Sydney’s Jewish community.
“It’s also an opportunity to bring the relations between our nations on a new beginning and a better future,” Herzog said outside Albanese’s office.
“I think the relations between us do not depend only on the issue of Israel and the Palestinians and the conflict but has a much broader base,” he added. “We should, together, make sure that it’s uplifted to new directions.”
Mainstream Jewish groups in Australia have welcomed the visit of Herzog, a former leader of the centrist Labour Party who now plays a largely ceremonial role.
Albanese and Herzog dined on Tuesday night at the prime minister’s official residence on Sydney Harbor before flying together to Canberra on Wednesday morning in an Australian air force jet.
Protests against Israel mark Herzog’s visit
Hundreds of demonstrators, some waving Palestinian flags, and several lawmakers gathered outside Parliament House to protest Herzog’s presence.
On Monday, as Herzog arrived in Sydney, thousands of demonstrators rallied there and also in downtown Melbourne. Australia’s two largest cities are home to 85 percent of Australia’s Jewish population.
Mehreen Faruqi, the Muslim deputy leader of the influential Greens party, told protesters outside Parliament House on Wednesday that Herzog was not welcome in Australia.
She condemned Albanese and New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns for police using pepper spray and aggressive tactics in clashes with protesters in Sydney on Monday. Police were given increased powers to arrest protesters due to Herzog’s visit.
“It is shameful that the premier of New South Wales and the prime minister of Australia are offering warm handshakes, photo opportunities and canapés to a war criminal, to a war criminal who has incited genocide, while those who are fighting for peace, who are protesting against the genocide, are attacked and assaulted and thrown to the ground,” Faruqi told the crowd, many of whom chanted “arrest Herzog.”
David Pocock, an independent senator and former captain of Australia’s rugby team, also joined the demonstration outside Parliament.
“It was the wrong decision to invite President Herzog at this time when we have seen so much strain on communities and tension in communities across the country,” Pocock told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
A heavy police presence at the Sydney rally on Monday prevented demonstrators marching from the Sydney Town Hall. Police arrested 27 demonstrators and charged nine, mostly with assaulting police.
Minns defended the police actions, saying that if the protesters had marched from the town hall, they might have clashed with thousands of mourners of the Bondi massacre who had gathered at an event with Herzog nearby.
Before returning to Israel, Herzog will visit Melbourne, where protests are planned for Thursday afternoon. In Melbourne, the Israeli president is to visit the ruins of the Adass Israel Synagogue, torched in late 2024.
Australia accused Iran of directing that arson attack and expelled Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi last August.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he conveyed the request to visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting earlier in the day.
Australian Zomi Frankcom was one of four World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by an Israeli drone on April 1, 2024. The other aid workers were an American-Canadian dual citizen, a Palestinian and a Polish national. Three British security staff were also killed in the same airstrike.
There was no immediate response on Albanese’s request from Herzog, who visited the national capital, Canberra, on Wednesday after spending two days in Sydney, where he comforted Jews reeling from an antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in December that left 15 dead.
Herzog’s visit triggers controversy
Though Australia’s major political parties largely back Herzog’s visit, Albanese spoke in Parliament on Wednesday to several lawmakers who opposed it, accusing the Israeli leader of inciting genocide in Gaza and inflaming community tensions within Australia.
The prime minister defended the visit and said it was an opportunity to “raise the issue” of the killed aid workers.
“That’s one of the reasons why you have dialogue in a respectful way; to get outcomes and to advance Australia’s national interests,” he told Parliament.
Four months after the aid convoy strike, an Australian inquiry found the airstrike resulted from procedural failures and errors on the part of the Israeli military.
Albanese said it was a “tragedy and an outrage” and that he made clear Australia’s “expectation that there be transparency about Israel’s ongoing investigation into the incident.”
“We continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges,” he added.
Israel’s president describes a ‘very emotional’ visit
Herzog told reporters that his visit has been “very emotional” in the wake of the suffering the Bondi massacre had caused Sydney’s Jewish community.
“It’s also an opportunity to bring the relations between our nations on a new beginning and a better future,” Herzog said outside Albanese’s office.
“I think the relations between us do not depend only on the issue of Israel and the Palestinians and the conflict but has a much broader base,” he added. “We should, together, make sure that it’s uplifted to new directions.”
Mainstream Jewish groups in Australia have welcomed the visit of Herzog, a former leader of the centrist Labour Party who now plays a largely ceremonial role.
Albanese and Herzog dined on Tuesday night at the prime minister’s official residence on Sydney Harbor before flying together to Canberra on Wednesday morning in an Australian air force jet.
Protests against Israel mark Herzog’s visit
Hundreds of demonstrators, some waving Palestinian flags, and several lawmakers gathered outside Parliament House to protest Herzog’s presence.
On Monday, as Herzog arrived in Sydney, thousands of demonstrators rallied there and also in downtown Melbourne. Australia’s two largest cities are home to 85 percent of Australia’s Jewish population.
Mehreen Faruqi, the Muslim deputy leader of the influential Greens party, told protesters outside Parliament House on Wednesday that Herzog was not welcome in Australia.
She condemned Albanese and New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns for police using pepper spray and aggressive tactics in clashes with protesters in Sydney on Monday. Police were given increased powers to arrest protesters due to Herzog’s visit.
“It is shameful that the premier of New South Wales and the prime minister of Australia are offering warm handshakes, photo opportunities and canapés to a war criminal, to a war criminal who has incited genocide, while those who are fighting for peace, who are protesting against the genocide, are attacked and assaulted and thrown to the ground,” Faruqi told the crowd, many of whom chanted “arrest Herzog.”
David Pocock, an independent senator and former captain of Australia’s rugby team, also joined the demonstration outside Parliament.
“It was the wrong decision to invite President Herzog at this time when we have seen so much strain on communities and tension in communities across the country,” Pocock told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
A heavy police presence at the Sydney rally on Monday prevented demonstrators marching from the Sydney Town Hall. Police arrested 27 demonstrators and charged nine, mostly with assaulting police.
Minns defended the police actions, saying that if the protesters had marched from the town hall, they might have clashed with thousands of mourners of the Bondi massacre who had gathered at an event with Herzog nearby.
Before returning to Israel, Herzog will visit Melbourne, where protests are planned for Thursday afternoon. In Melbourne, the Israeli president is to visit the ruins of the Adass Israel Synagogue, torched in late 2024.
Australia accused Iran of directing that arson attack and expelled Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi last August.
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