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Australia to decide on Israel embassy move by Christmas

November 15, 2018 at 11:58 am

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison [Wikipedia]

The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison “to abandon plans to move the Israel embassy to Jerusalem”, reported Xinhua.

Penny Wong, the ALP’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said today that moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “should be dismissed on the grounds that it would harm Australia’s relationship with Indonesia”.

Morrison, meanwhile, said that he would make a final decision on the embassy by Christmas, after meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Back in October, the premier said he was “open” to the idea of relocating the embassy, following US President Donald Trump’s lead.

Morrison “made the announcement only days after he and Widodo agreed on a free trade agreement between the two countries that had been years in the making”.

“The reality is the Indonesian trade minister has made very clear the delay in finalising this agreement, or signing, is the government’s position on Palestine,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio today.

Read: Indonesia rejects trade deal with Australia because of Jerusalem