LONDON: The government of Australia has reaffirmed its stance that the Golan Heights is occupied territory, after recent comments by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who referred to the area as an Israeli town, Western media reported on Wednesday.
Wong in a statement on social media platforms X and Instagram, triggered a wave of online reactions questioning whether she had acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over the dispute, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, termed the statement as alarming, highlighting that international recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is limited, only acknowledged by the US under the Trump administration.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade clarified that there had been no change in Australia’s policy. “There is no change in our position that the Golan Heights are occupied by Israel, as determined by the UN Security Council,” the spokesperson told media. “Our longstanding position is that the Golan Heights are a matter for Israel and Syria to determine through negotiations in the context of a comprehensive peace settlement.”
The international community has long questioned Israel’s control of the Golan Heights. A UN Security Council resolution in November 1967 asserted “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” and asked for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories. In 1981, the Security Council unanimously declared that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, administration and jurisdiction in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was null and void.
Former US President Donald Trump in 2019 announced to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
