The Australian government will not refer to East Jerusalem as “occupied, territory” the government said in a statement on Thursday, in what one legislator called a “massive shift” in foreign policy.
Attorney General George Brandis explained Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s position that using the word “occupied” was judgmental and does not contribute to the dialogue about the contested area, the Australian Associated Press reported.
“The description of East Jerusalem as ‘occupied’ East Jerusalem is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither appropriate nor useful,” Brandis said during a Senate meeting. “It should not and will not be the practice of the Australian government to describe areas of negotiation in such judgmental language.”
The decision came 47 years to the day after the 1967 Six Day War, in which the Jewish state captured East Jerusalem as well as the West Bank and other territories from Arab neighbors. The country effectively annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, unifying the city under Israeli sovereignty, though most of the international community did not recognize the move.
On Wednesday night, Brandis came under fire after declaring that no Australia government, regardless of political persuasion, “acknowledges or accepts” calling East Jerusalem “occupied.” Several lawmakers challenged Brandis, noting that in 2011 and 2012 Australia backed UN resolutions that did refer to East Jerusalem as occupied territory.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon noted that the statement amounted to a “massive shift” in Australia’s foreign policy. In January, Bishop appeared to contest the view that Israeli settlements anywhere beyond the 1967 lines were illegal under international law.
Read more: timesofisrael
Israel welcomes Aussie decision on East Jerusalem
Lees: Wat Australië betreft wordt Oost-Jeruzalem voortaan niet langer ‘bezet’ gebied genoemd
Our comment: See and hear, in the video below, how our (treacherous) Dutch government in 2009 labelled and condemned East Jerusalem as 'occupied territory':
