Foreign Minister Penny Wong has added Australia's voice to international condemnation over the Israeli government's decision to build thousands of settlement units in the occupied West Bank in violation of international law.
"We strongly oppose these unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution," the statement said.
"Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live in peace, with equal measures of freedom, security, and prosperity." The United Nation's special rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese criticised the language used by the United States and others, saying "the construction of colonies in occupied land constitutes a war crime, not a 'unilateral measure'".
Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City and its Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy sites, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war.The Palestinians seek the occupied West Bank and Gaza for a future independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
"We have raised his case including his appeal and noted our ongoing interest in the case and also raised our hope that the appeal process be conducted expeditiously," he said.
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