Tony Abbott quietly shifts UN position to support Israeli settlements, upsetting Palestinians "It's quite extraordinary that [the government] would make a large change without reporting back to Australians": Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek. The Abbott government has swung its support further behind Israel at the expense of Palestine, giving tacit approval to controversial activities including the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. Acting on instructions from Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, government representatives at the United Nations have withdrawn Australia's support for an order to stop "all Israeli settlement activities in all of the occupied territories." While 158 countries supported the UN in calling for an end to Israeli settlements, Australia joined eight other countries, including South Sudan and Papua New Guinea, in abstaining from voting. Labor governments under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard condemned the settlements. Tight hold on information: Tony Abbott. Many within the international community regard the expansion of Israeli settlements as an act of hostility towards Palestinians, hampering the likelihood of peace. The UN resolution calls for "prevention of all acts of violence, destruction, harassment and provocation by Israeli settlers, especially against Palestinian civilians and their properties." The Abbott government has also indicated it no longer believes Israel, as an "occupying power," should be forced to comply with the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Withdrawn support: Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop. At the UN meeting, 160 countries supported ordering Israel to "comply scrupulously" with the conventions. Australia was one of five countries to abstain. Six countries voted against the resolution, including Israel, the US and Canada. A section of the Geneva Conventions, which Australia no longer supports in regard to Israel and Palestine, states "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." The UN votes have largely gone unnoticed during the past fortnight as the Australian media has fixated on the Indonesian spying crisis. "A shame, in the deepest sense": Bob Carr comments on Australia's decision to vote against the resolution. In keeping with the Abbott government's tight hold on information, there have been no news conferences about these changes in Middle East policy. Nor did the Abbott government consult the Palestinian community before making the changes, according to the head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Izzat Abdulhadi. "It is very regrettable," Dr Abdulhadi said. There was no transparency in their approach. Former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr described Australia's withdrawal of support for Palestine as "a shame, in the deepest sense." The executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, Colin Rubenstein, said he "emphatically [welcomed] the government's principled leadership in changing these votes, reverting to the Howard/Downer position." Ms Bishop's spokeswoman said the minister was on a plane and could not respond to questions. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said she was surprised to hear about the changes to Middle East policy through the media with no formal confirmation from the government. "It's quite extraordinary that [the government] would make such a large change without reporting back to Australians," Ms Plibersek said on the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.