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The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council is yet again deeply disappointed by the Australian Government’s change of vote on a UN General Assembly resolution – this one titled “Peaceful Settlement of the question of Palestine”.

AIJAC Executive Director Colin Rubenstein AM said, “This is a resolution that puts many obligations on Israel but asks nothing of the Palestinians. It is woefully one-sided – which is why, for more than 20 years, Australian governments of all stripes have always voted no, or abstained. And this year it was made even more extreme, with new demands Israel must unilaterally withdraw from all disputed territory as soon as possible without any negotiations and pay compensation to the Palestinians. This makes the Government’s decision even harder to comprehend.”

Dr Rubenstein continued, “By promising the Palestinians everything they want without imposing any obligations on them whatsoever, this resolution is simply a recipe for further conflict, not peace. The only way to reach peace is through negotiation and compromise between the parties. This resolution does nothing to acknowledge that Israel needs a willing partner for peace, and nothing to require the Palestinian Authority be reformed or Hamas be marginalised, both of which Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong has said are essential. It is therefore clearly against the conditions Senator Wong has said are necessary for a two-state peace.”

Dr Rubenstein concluded, “Unfortunately, we’ve come to expect half-hearted explanations by the Foreign Minister that she didn’t like some of the paragraphs in a resolution but voted for it anyway. These explanations don’t make sense when the resolution is so directly at odds with what she has stated are the minimum requirements for peace. Further, it is odd that Australia’s Ambassador to the UN said voting for this resolution doesn’t prejudge the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, when this resolution does exactly that. The Government can’t have its cake and eat it too.”