The Australian government has reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the wake of President Donald Trump’s shock retreat from the plan, a longstanding and bipartisan pillar of US foreign policy.
In a statement to Fairfax Media, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia’s position had been consistent and encouraged “both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to negotiate an outcome that would see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side, within internationally recognised borders, in a peaceful and stable environment”.
Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC on Wednesday, Mr Trump dropped American insistence on an independent Palestinian state by saying he was “looking at two-state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like”.
“I can live with either one. I thought for a while it looked like the two-state, looked like it may be the easier of the two, but honestly if Bibi and if the Palestinians; if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, I’m happy with the one they like the best,” Mr Trump said, referring to Mr Netanyahu by his nickname.
Read the full article by Fergus Hunter at the Sydney Morning Herald.