Australian government confirms Golan Heights policy after FM refers to 'Israeli city'
LONDON: The Australian government has reiterated its position that the Golan Heights are occupied territory, following recent comments by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who referred to the area as a “northern Israeli town”, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Wong's comments, made in a statement posted on social media platforms X and Instagram, sparked a wave of online reactions questioning whether she had recognized Israeli sovereignty over the region, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.
It follows a rocket attack on a city soccer field in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children.
The controversy arose from Wong's post, which began with the statement: “Australia unequivocally condemns the attack on the northern Israeli town of Majdal Shams.” Notably, the statement did not refer to the Golan Heights as occupied territory.
This omission raised concerns from groups such as the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, which described the language used as “alarming”, stressing that international recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is limited, predominantly recognized only by Israel and the United States under the Trump administration.
In response, 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 Guardian Australia. “Our longstanding position is that the Golan Heights is a matter for Israel and Syria to resolve through negotiations within the framework of a comprehensive peace settlement.”
A government source explained that the intention behind Wong's statement was to underline the dangers of escalation and to condemn the strikes that resulted in civilian casualties in Majdal Shams. The source added that the post “acknowledged the fact that the city is administered and occupied by Israel.”
The issue received further attention after a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Majdal Shams, a predominantly Druze village, where he promised a “tough” response to a recent rocket attack that claimed the lives of 12 children. Netanyahu's visit was met with protests from some local residents. Israeli and US officials have attributed the attack to Hezbollah, although the Lebanese militant group has denied involvement.
The international community has long contested Israel's control of the Golan Heights. A November 1967 UN Security Council resolution asserted that “it is impermissible to acquire territory by war” and demanded Israel's withdrawal from occupied territories. Furthermore, in 1981, the Security Council unanimously declared that “the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect.”
In a notable departure from international consensus, former US President Donald Trump announced in 2019 that the US would recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a decision he justified as essential to Israel's security and regional stability.
The situation has led to calls for clarity in Australia's position. Jordon Steele-John, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Australian Greens, has called on Minister Wong to reconcile her statement with the department's official policy, saying: “The public deserves to know why the minister's position is seemingly at odds with her own department.”
This controversy comes in the wake of Australia's decision last August to formally describe the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as occupied Palestinian territories, in line with international law and the position of several allies, including Britain.
