Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Australia is proposing to adopt or will be adopting or returning to the term 'Occupied Palestinian Territories'. The point I'd make to the senator is that that is consistent with the UN Security Council resolutions. It is consistent with the approach taken by key partners, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the European Union. This is a term which has been used on past occasions, by past foreign ministers and past governments, and is consistent with much of the nomenclature that is used within the UN context. And it is used, as I said, by key partners, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the European Union. In adopting the term, we are clarifying that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza were occupied by Israel following the 1967 war and that the occupation continues. This reaffirms our commitment to a negotiated two-state solution in which Israel and the future Palestinian state coexist. (Time expired)