Australia backs UN vote on ‘permanent sovereignty’ for Palestinians
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Alex Ryvchin, the co-chair of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said Australia’s change in voting behaviour showed a “widening gulf between the US and Australian positions regarding Israel and the Palestinians” that would be “noticed in Washington”.
Nasser Mashni, President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, said the vote welcomed the vote as a “significant step towards upholding the fundamental rights of Palestinians under international law.
“By supporting this resolution, Australia has taken a meaningful stand against the systemic deprivation that has threatened the livelihoods of Palestinians under decades of illegal Israeli occupation.”
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the vote reflected international concern for Israel’s actions, including its “ongoing settlement activity, land dispossession, demolitions and settler violence against Palestinians”.
“We have been clear that such acts undermine stability and prospects for a two-state solution,” the spokesperson said.
“This resolution importantly recalls UN security council resolutions that reaffirm the importance of a two-state solution that has had bipartisan support.”
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said it was “simply bizarre” that Australia would vote in favour of the motions.
“Such resolutions are designed to be a permanent irritant between the parties and prevent them from moving towards a negotiated peaceful future,” he said.
Australia abstained in a vote on a September UN resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza within a year, saying the nation’s diplomats had tried and failed to redraft the motion to make it less contentious.
