The Morrison government has been advised by key bureaucrats and retired “wise elders” against moving its Israel embassy to Jerusalem or making other significant changes to Australia’s stance on the status of the city central to the Middle East peace process.
In a development that puts the government in the awkward position of potentially having to ignore its own key advisers, the clear majority view the government has received from its most senior and seasoned foreign policy thinkers is to keep things as they are, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age understand.
The Morrison cabinet is wrestling with whether to make the historic shift in its foreign policy, having discussed the matter this week and with the clock ticking on making a promised announcement before Christmas.
It follows Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s declaration in the heat of the Wentworth byelection campaign that the government would consider recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving Australia’s embassy there.
That would follow in the footsteps of United States President Donald Trump and make Australia only the second major country to shift its position on the contentious issue that goes to the heart of the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict.
While the advice the government has received has not been unanimous, it appears the clear weight of opinion has stated that the status quo on Jerusalem should be maintained.
Read the article by David Wroe in The Sydney Morning Herald.