Australia has backed in a United Nations resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, marking a major departure from its previous position.
At a UN committee vote on Thursday, Australia voted with 158 other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, on a resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources”.
Seven, including the US, Israel and Canada, voted against the resolution while 11 others abstained. The vote will now proceed to the UN general assembly.
A spokesperson for the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the vote reflected international concern for Israel’s actions, including its “ongoing settlement activity, land dispossession, demolitions and settler violence against Palestinians”.
“We have been clear that such acts undermine stability and prospects for a two-state solution,” the spokesperson said.
“This resolution importantly recalls UN security council resolutions that reaffirm the importance of a two-state solution that has had bipartisan support.”
Guardian Australia understands Australia was disappointed the resolution did not include references to Hezbollah’s actions in Israel.
Australia has not changed its position on final-status issues, such as borders, security and Jerusalem, which will need to be resolved under negotiations toward a two-state solution.
The US’s mission to the UN released a statement shortly after signifying its disappointment in the “unbalanced resolution that is unfairly critical of Israel, demonstrating a clear and persistent institutional bias directed against one member state”.
“One-sided resolutions will not help advance peace. Not when they ignore the facts on the ground,” Nicholas Koval, the US political diplomat, said.
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“One-sided resolutions are purely rhetorical documents that seek to divide us at a time when we should be coming together. And one we must not cling to longstanding lines of division.”
The vote comes a day after president-elect, Donald Trump, chose Mike Huckabee as the next US ambassador to Israel.
The former Arkansas governor is known for his pro-Israel views in the conflict and has previously said Israel has a rightful claim to the West Bank, which he refers to by its Hebrew and biblical name of Judea and Samaria.
More to come.