Australia Approves UNGA Resolution for Israel to Withdraw from West Bank and Gaza

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Reversing more than 20 years of prior policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Australia on Tuesday voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution that calls for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza to the pre-1967 borders, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. The resolution passed by 157-8 votes with seven abstentions and the United States and Israel voting ‘no.’

The UNGA resolution was brought shortly after the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 21 for crimes against humanity allegedly committed against the people of Gaza during the ongoing war triggered by last year’s October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

The UNGA resolution expressed “unwavering support, in accordance with international law, for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine” and called for the two states to live “side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders.”

In a statement, spokesperson for Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra had approved the resolution to “contribute to peace and a two-state solution.”

“On our own, Australia has few ways to move the dial in the Middle East. Our only hope is working within the international community to push for an end to the cycle of violence and work toward a two-state solution,” Wong said.

In its report, TOI observed that the last time Australia voted for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders was back in 2001. However, TOI noted: “Over the past year has largely departed from its policy of voting against or abstaining from pro-Palestinian resolutions in the UN. In another shift Tuesday, the country abstained on a resolution giving resources to a UN office on Palestinian rights, changing its position held since 2003.”

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