Israel has a friend Down Under.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull blasted United Nations Resolution 2334, calling the measure “deeply unsettling.”
Pledging support for the so-called two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians, Turnbull told a Sydney synagogue Friday that peace could only come through negotiations between both sides.
“It is not assisted by one-sided resolutions made at the councils of the United Nations or anywhere else, and that is why Australia has not, and does not, support one-sided resolutions,” Turnbull said at a Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony in the Australian capital, according to the Australian Jewish News.
“These issues can only be resolved by the State of Israel and the Palestinian community,” Turnbull said.
“That is where the solution lies, when and where it is to be found,” he added, dismissing UN resolutions that “are not conducive to the successful conclusion of negotiations.”
Turnbull’s position puts him at odds with the American government, which abstained from the voting on the resolution, which condemns Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to alter the US’ position toward Israel and the United Nations when he’s sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2017.