SYDNEY (EJP)—47 years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel reunified Jerusalem, Australia said it will no longer use the word ‘’occupied’’ when it describes East Jerusalem, a new sign of the restoration of strong ties between Canberra and Jerusalem since last year’s electoral victory of the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
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 description of East Jerusalem as ‘occupied’ East Jerusalem is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither appropriate nor useful,” said Brandis, who is also a Minister in Abbott’s cabinet, during a Senate hearing on Wednesday. He was questioned from opposition and crossbench Senators.
‘’It should not and will not be the practice of the Australian government to describe areas of negotiation in such judgmental language,’’ he said.
Bishop’s opponents in the Australian parliament were said to be outraged, noting that even Israel’s greatest ally, the United States, views eastern Jerusalem as ‘’occupied territory.’’
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman commended the Australian government for showing “integrity and decency regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
He lauded Brandis’ stance as a “serious approach to the issue,” adding that the former’s remarks were “free of populism or efforts to kiss up to extreme Islamists, who terrorize anyone who dares tell the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
“The territories [in question]have been part of Jewish history for thousands of years and were never a part of any Palestinian state, which never actually existed,” Lieberman said, expressing the hope that “additional countries will find the integrity and courage shown by the government of Australia.”