Bahrain defends Australia’s decision on Jerusalem

The foreign minister has defended Australia’s formal recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying the move would not affect a future Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital. Australia’s government announced the decision on Saturday, reversing decades of Middle East policy, but said it would not immediately move its embassy there.

The United States in May opened its embassy in Jerusalem. “Australia’s stance does not impact the legitimate Palestinian demands, first among them being East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and it does not contradict the Arab Peace Initiative,” Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa tweeted on Saturday.

Shaikh Khalid has previously said Israel had the right to defend itself against Iran, which Bahrain blames for interfering in national affairs.