Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Monday and thanked him for considering officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocating the Australian embassy there.
“The Australian prime minister updated [Netanyahu] that he is weighing whether to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the Australian Embassy to Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked him," the Prime Minister's office stated.
Earlier, Morrison explained: "The previous discussion was premised on the point that you couldn’t pursue this issue without risking or without prejudicing the final status. Now [former Ambassador] Dave [Sharma] is arguing the opposite to that and he’s saying that is possible. He’s arguing it can be done consistent with Australia’s long-running position … He’s actually changing the way in which the issue is conceived."
According to Morrison, the recognition of Jerusalem would be separate from any potential relocation of Australia's embassy, which would be a "longer term consideration." He said that recognizing Jerusalem would not affect Australia's support for the two-state solution.