From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Australian Jewish groups pan Canberra for new policy on Palestinians
Jewish groups in Australia are criticizing their government’s change of policy in referring to the “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
The Zionist Federation of Australia and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry say the change “is inaccurate, ahistorical and counterproductive.”
It “effectively denies any Jewish claim to the West Bank and Jerusalem. The most important Jewish holy sites of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall are in East Jerusalem, and there has been an unbroken Jewish presence in the West Bank for thousands of years.”
“Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to negotiate the division of the West Bank between them. Describing the territories as ‘Palestinian’ not only pre-empts the outcome of negotiations but is counterproductive.”
The Times of Israel Community.