NAOMI LEVIN

THE federal Government has denied a shift in Middle East policy, despite changing Australia’s vote in the United Nations on a motion on Palestinian self-determination.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said Australia’s UN voting pattern is strongly based on the country’s “long-standing support for the Middle East peace process”, including a two-state solution.

Representatives of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC)  wrote to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister asking for an explanation about the vote change.

The vote in question was in a committee of the General Assembly earlier this month. The motion reaffirms the right of Palestinian people to self-determination and urges all states to help the Palestinian people realise this.

While the motion itself is not considered controversial, preceding statements refer to the International Court of Justice’s controversial ruling on Israel’s security barrier; to East Jerusalem as part of a future Palestinian state; and to Palestinian relief agencies, which some argue have been found to do more to exacerbate Palestinian problems than solve them.
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In previous years, Australia has abstained on the vote, but this year the country voted in favour.

The DFAT spokesperson said even thought the motion referenced the International Court of Justice’s ruling, that ruling was only an advisory opinion.

“We will not oppose a resolution in the General Assembly on the Middle East simply because it refers to that advisory opinion,” she said, indicating somewhat of a shift in tack.

The spokesperson added: “As we clearly demonstrated in our opposition to the Goldstone resolution, we continue to support Israel’s right to live in peace within secure and internationally recognised borders.

“Similarly, the Government is committed to the Palestinians’ right to a state of their own.”

The federal Opposition was swift to criticise the vote shift.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said: “It is deeply regrettable that the Rudd Government is overturning Australia’s policy of refusing to support one-sided resolutions against Israel in the UN General Assembly.

“Resolutions at the UN General Assembly that speak only of Palestinian rights to a homeland, yet make no reference to the right of the state of Israel to exist, are inflammatory and counter-productive.”

The only countries to vote against the motion were Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and the United States. Only Botswana,  Cameroon, Canada, Tonga and Vanuatu abstained.

According to the letter to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith from the ECAJ and ZFA, “the explanation given by Australia for its abstention in previous years was that while Australia recognises the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the text of the motion gratuitously ‘tacks on’ other matters, which are far more contentious”.

AIJAC’s letter also expressed disappointment because the resolutions, while appearing to be “ostensibly reasonable”, “omit any reference to Palestinian obligations, and, in so doing, perpetuate the counter-productive narrative that Israel’s policies are the sole obstacles to peace”.

This latest vote change comes a year after the Rudd Government instructed Australia’s UN representative to, for the first time, vote in favour of resolutions calling for a halt to settlement activities in the Palestinian territories and for the Geneva Convention to be applied in the Palestinian territories.

At the time, Smith said Australia adopts its approach on a “case-by-case” basis and saw these votes to correlate with Australia’s support for a two-state solution.