Australian Attorney General George Brandis released a message in the name of that country’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop; “The description of areas which are subject to negotiations in the course of the peace process by reference to historical events is unhelpful.” Brandis released the message on Thursday, 7 Sivan 5774, stating

In a change of policy, the Australians have stopped using the term “occupied” in reference to areas of the eastern capital which were liberate by the IDF in the Jun 1967 Six Day war.

“Australia supports a peaceful solution to the dispute between Israel and the Palestinian people, which recognizes the right of Israel to exist peacefully within secure borders and also recognizes the aspiration to statehood of the Palestinian people. The description of areas which are subject to negotiations in the course of the peace process by reference to historical events is unhelpful.

“The description of East Jerusalem as ‘Occupied East Jerusalem’ is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither appropriate nor useful. It should not and will not be the practice of the Australian government to describe areas of negotiation in such judgmental language.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)