Malaysia: Aussie embassy's transfer to J'lem of no use

By Iqbal Musyaffa and Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo

SINGAPORE (AA) - The transfer of the Australian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would not be of any help in peace efforts, Malaysia's prime minister said on Thursday.

Stressing that the move would likely trigger more terror instead, Mahathir Mohamad said during a bilateral meeting with his Australia counterpart Scott John Morrison on the sidelines of 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore.

He added: “In dealing with terrorism, we need know what the trigger is.”

Mahathir said Australia had not made any decision regarding plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv, and the country claimed it was still working on the plan.

U.S. Donald Trump's president sparked a world outcry last December after announcing plans to move Washington's Israel embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel's capital (which he did earlier this year).

Since then, the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah has rejected any mediating role by the U.S. in the moribund Middle East peace process.

Jerusalem remains the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinian hope that occupied East Jerusalem since 1967 - might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.