Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that the government will reinstate the term “Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
Australia will also strengthen its objections to “illegal” Israeli settlements before next week’s Labor Party national conference.
Wong told the Senate the Australian government was “gravely concerned about alarming trends that are significantly reducing the prospects of peace”.
“The Australian government is strengthening its opposition to settlements by affirming they are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace,” she said.
Furthermore, the minister asserted that the government would return to the position of previous governments of explicitly referring to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
When asked by the Coalition to explain the precise boundaries, Wong said: “The approach taken by key partners including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the European Union (EU).”
“In adopting the term we are clarifying that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, were occupied by Israel following the 1967 war and that the occupation continues and reaffirms our commitment to negotiate a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist.”
She added that the government had “rebalanced Australia’s positions in international forums while opposing anti-Israel bias in the UN”.
Australia would continue to condemn “all forms of terrorism and violence against civilians”, Wong said.
