Australia no longer recognizes 'West Al-Quds' as 'Israel' capital

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The Australian government quietly deleted a statement on the Foreign Ministry's website regarding Canberra's recognition of the Western part of Al-Quds, the Israeli-proclaimed capital of "Israel", as the capital, The Guardian reported on Monday.

The decision means that Australia is reversing the decision taken by the former Australian capital, which was led by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Morrison in 2018 announced that Australia recognized the Palestinian capital's western part as the capital of "Israel", stressing that his cabinet intended on opening trade and security offices there as part of increased cooperation with "Tel Aviv".

However, the Labor Party, which now runs the government, did not accept Morrison's decision, deleting the statement saying Canberra recognized the western part of Al-Quds as the capital of "Israel being the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of the Israeli government."

"The Australian government continues to consider the final status of Jerusalem [al-Quds] as a matter to be resolved as part of any peace negotiations," a foreign ministry spokesperson told The Guardian after the removal of the statement.

Under Morrison, too, the Australian federal government designated the entirety of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, including its political arm, as a “terrorist organization”.

Australia had already blacklisted Hamas' military wing, but it later joined the United Kingdom, the United States, and others in extending the designation to Hamas’ political component.

Late last year, Australia listed Hezbollah in its entirety as a "terrorist organization", extending a current ban on its military wing to include the entire movement. 

Membership in the entire organization, as well as funding for it, was prohibited in Australia, which has a large Lebanese community. Interestingly enough, the Lebanese Resistance also holds a large number of seats in the Lebanese parliament, rendering it one of the most influential political parties in Lebanon.

No reason was given for the timing of Australia’s decision to label the movements as "terrorist organizations".