Former Australian Prime Minister and current MP Tony Abbott has come out, calling upon his country to relocate its embassy in Jerusalem.

“The problem with the so-called peace process is that no Palestinian leader, it seems, has ever been prepared to say – in Arabic – that Israel has a right to exist. And as long as the Palestinian leadership refuses to concede that, it’s very hard to see how there can ever be any kind of settlement involving Israel and a Palestinian state. A Palestinian state would have to exist on an absolutely clear and accepted understanding that Israel’s right to exist is completely unquestioned,” said Abbott in a media interview.

Abbot was interviewed by the Yisrael Hayom newspaper, attending the Strategic Leadership Conference hosted by the International Institute for Leadership Dialogue.

Abbot is calling to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump and to relocate the Australian Embassy in Jerusalem. In a question and answer interview with the newspaper, he stated, “Israel is the only pluralist democracy in the Middle East”, a nation that is under an existential threat. Citing that Israel represents “decency and freedom” in the region, and therefore, it “deserves the strongest possible support from Australia”.

Abbot also acknowledged that many Australians have a connection to Israel, and therefore, he would like to see expanded relations, including more commercial and scientific cooperation. He feels that Israel has a great deal to offer, and his country should take advantage of the situation.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)