Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Monday he was disappointed with Australia's decision to no longer recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, calling the move "rash and wrong."
The center-left Australian government led by the Labor Party agreed on Tuesday reaffirmed that Jerusalem’s status must be resolved in peace negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia remained committed to a two-party solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, adding that “we will not support an approach that undermines this prospect.”
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said move was "a shortsighted politically motivated decision."
"We hope other decisions taken by that government follows more serious considerations," the PMO said. "Unified Jerusalem remains Israel's eternal capital, no matter what the Australian government says."
The Foreign Ministry said the Australian ambassador to Israel Paul Griffiths was summoned to the ministry to discuss Canberra's announcement.
On Monday, the web page of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was reported to have amended the wording on Jerusalem to reflect the policy shit.
Former conservative Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally recognized West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2018, although the Australian embassy remained in Tel Aviv.
The change followed then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to shift the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Joe Biden has kept the embassy in Jerusalem as the U.S. steps back from its once-intense mediation between the Israelis and Palestinians, who have not held substantive peace talks in more than a decade.
Wong described Morrison’s move as out of step internationally and a “cynical play” to win a byelection in a Sydney locale with a large Jewish population.
The Associated Press contributed to this report