Australia Sides with Majority of UN Members to Recognize Palestinian Sovereignty
In a significant diplomatic move, Australia has broken ranks with its close allies the United States and Israel by voting in favor of a United Nations resolution that recognizes the "permanent sovereignty" of the Palestinian people over the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On Thursday, Australia joined 154 other countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and France, in backing the draft resolution. The motion reaffirms Palestinian sovereignty over their natural resources in the occupied territories. Australia also supported a second resolution that condemned Israel for an oil spill incident off the coast of Lebanon in 2006 and called on Israel to compensate Lebanon and other affected countries. A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that while Australia did not agree with everything in the resolutions, the votes reflect "international concern […]