Australian government confirms Golan Heights policy after foreign minister refers to 'Israeli town'
LONDON: The Australian government has reiterated its position that the Golan Heights is occupied territory after Foreign Minister Penny Wong recently made comments referring 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 an online backlash over whether she recognized Israeli sovereignty over the region, which Israel seized from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.
The story follows a rocket attack on a football stadium in a Golan Heights town that killed 12 children.
The controversy stemmed 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.
The omission has raised concerns from groups such as the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, which described the language as “shocking”, highlighting that international recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights remains limited, with much of it recognized only by Israel and the US under the Trump administration.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade clarified that there had been no change to Australian policy. “There is no change to our position that the Golan Heights is occupied by Israel, as determined by the United Nations Security Council,” the spokesperson told Guardian Australia. “Our long-standing position has been that the Golan Heights is a matter for Israel and Syria to decide through negotiations in the context of a comprehensive peace settlement.”
A government source explained that the intent behind Wong’s statement was to highlight the dangers of escalating violence and to condemn the attacks that resulted in civilian casualties in Majdal Shams. The post, the source added, “acknowledges the fact that the city is under Israeli administration and occupation.”
The issue came into sharp focus after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the predominantly Druze village of Majdal Shams, where he pledged a “strong response” to a recent rocket attack that killed 12 children. Netanyahu’s visit was welcomed by some local residents. Israeli and U.S. officials said the attack was carried out by Hezbollah, although the Lebanese terrorist group has denied any involvement.
The international community has long disputed Israeli control of the Golan Heights. A UN Security Council resolution in November 1967 stated that “the acquisition of territory by war is unacceptable” and called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. Furthermore, in 1981, the UN Security Council unanimously declared that “Israeli decisions to exercise its legal, judicial and administrative powers in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights are null and void and have no effect under international law.”
Former US President Donald Trump announced in 2019 that the US would recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a marked change from the international consensus, arguing that the decision was necessary for Israel's security and stability in the region.
The situation has prompted calls for Australia to clarify its position. Jordan Steele-John, a spokesperson for Australia's Green Party foreign affairs department, called on Minister Wong to update her statement to be in line with official policy, saying: “The community should be made aware of why the minister's position appears to conflict with her own department.”
The conflict follows Australia's decision in August last year to formally recognise the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as occupied Palestinian territory, in line with international law and the position of its allies, including the UK.
