Arab League to warn Coalition against Israel policy shift

A group of 22 Arabic speaking nations will send a delegation to Australia to urge the government to retreat from its new policy on Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Kym Smith

The Arab League, a group of 22 Arabic speaking nations, will send a high ranking delegation to Australia to urge the Morrison government to retreat from its new policy on Jerusalem.

Further on Friday, the Ambassadors of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon to Australia as well as the head of the Palestinian delegation plan to meet with the Department of Foreign Affairs Middle East First Secretary Hk Yu in Canberra to warn the Coalition of the consequences of the change in stance on the contested city.

Izzat Salah Abdulhadi, the head of the Palestinian delegation, said the group expect to have a “robust” discussion with the Australian official.

The decision was made at a meeting of the league in Cairo on Tuesday, which discussed the Australian government move to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The league, which includes Australian trading partners such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as the Syrian regime, also passed a resolution to call on Australia to “abide by international law” concerning the status of Jerusalem, and withdraw its recognition of West Jerusalem.

The resolution also called on Brazil to switch its policy after President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said he plans to move Brazil’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

According to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency the league’s statement also said the ambassadors of member countries should tell the Australian government they are prepared to take “political, diplomatic and economic measures” against Canberra as a result of the decision.

The new policy has received a fairly cool reaction in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies suggesting Australia had made a “mistake” as the whole of Jerusalem was Israel’s “eternal” capital, not just the West of the city.

Some foreign policy experts such as former US government Middle East negotiator Aaron Miller have said, however, the Morrison government’s move could be copied by other nations.

“The Australian move recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will likely be [the] preferred choice of those wishing to square [the] circle and leave open [the] possibility of Palestinian capital in east,” he said on Twitter.

As a result former Adviser to Netanyahu Shalom Lipner said the Australian move could make Netanyahu regret his campaign to gain international recognition of Jerusalem as the capital.

“Ironically, it could even lead Netanyahu to regret his campaign for international acceptance of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” he said.

“Should ‘partial recognition’ become the new gold standard, one can envision a situation where Israel’s ostensible friends adopt this half-pregnant route, and wind up inflicting inadvertent damage to Israel’s claim of sovereignty over the entire city.”

The Labor Party has also made its own foray in Middle East policy this week, passing a non-binding motion to recognise a Palestinian state at the ALP National Conference in Adelaide.

Some Jewish groups said they were relieved that the motion did not change the party’s platform or mean the party would immediately recognise Palestine if elected.

But others, such as The Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, slammed the move.

“The resolution, which is not binding on the parliamentary party, is a hindrance and not a help to Israelis and Palestinians who genuinely seek a positive coexistence,” AIJAC head Colin Rubenstein said.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Council said the motion represented an “objective and balanced approach”.