The Australian government has altered its recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the country's foreign minister announced Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that the center-left Labor Party government Cabinet agreed to recognize Tel Aviv as the capital again and emphasized that Jerusalem's status must be settled through peace discussions between Israel and the Palestinians.

Wong stated that Australia was committed to a two-party settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian problem and that "we will not support an approach that undermines this possibility."

In December 2018, former conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison officially acknowledged West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, while the Australian embassy remained in Tel Aviv.

This modification followed the then-U.S. The decision by President Donald Trump to relocate U.S. Embassy transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Joe Biden has kept the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem despite a reduction in U.S. mediation efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians, who have not engaged in substantial peace discussions for more than a decade.

Wong characterized Morrison's action as out of sync worldwide and a "cynical" ploy to win a by-election in a Sydney neighborhood with a significant Jewish population.

The Liberal Party of Morrison fielded the Jewish candidate Dave Sharma, who lost the byelection but regained the seat in the next general election.

The Morrison administration was voted out of office in May after nine years in office.