Australia has broken ranks with the United States and New Zealand over Israel, indicating that it would most likely have opposed the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel recalled its ambassador to New Zealand for consultations after NZ co-sponsored the resolution demanding that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem", and saying the settlements had "no legal validity and [constitute] a flagrant violation under international law".
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Kerry warns Middle East peace in jeopardy
Less than a month before leaving office, Secretary of State John Kerry issues a warning to Israel over the waning chances at peace with Palestine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, to warn him the resolution was a "declaration of war", according to a leading Israeli newspaper.
After the resolution, Israel's government said it would move ahead with thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem and said it had received "ironclad" information that Washington had helped craft the resolution.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who instructed his UN representative to abstain rather than veto the resolution, later delivered a strongly worded speech attacking settlements, saying "the settler agenda is defining the future of Israel, and their stated purpose is clear. They believe in one state: Greater Israel. Separate and unequal is what you would have, and no one can explain how that works."
In a statement released on Thursday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia was not currently a member of the Security Council and was not eligible to vote on the resolution.
However, she said, "in voting at the UN, the Coalition government has consistently not supported one-sided resolutions targeting Israel".
She urged both sides to refrain from steps that damage the prospect for peace and to "resume direct negotiations for a two-state solution as soon as possible".
Acting Opposition Leader Chris Bowen said Labor has long supported, and continued to support, a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Settlement building on occupied Palestinian land that undermined a two-state solution was "a roadblock to peace".
Labor had called on Israel to halt the expansion of settlements and to support renewed negotiations towards peace.
The Secretary of State said Israel's leadership was "the most right wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by its most extreme elements".
While America supported a two-state solution, "the policies of this government – which the Prime Minister himself just described as 'more committed to settlements than any in Israel's history' – are leading in the opposite direction, towards one state".
The UN vote was a reasonable extension of US policy that went back to the Johnson administration: that the land conquered in 1967 could be traded for a lasting peace with Israel's neighbours, Mr Kerry said.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, tweeted his support of Israel's position, saying, "stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"