Thu 22 September 2022:
British Prime Minister Liz Truss has informed her Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, that she is reviewing relocating the British embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Truss discussed the possible move with Lapid during a meeting at the UN summit in New York yesterday. Taking to Twitter, Lapid said that the pair “discussed deepening our nation’s ties in trade, innovation, and security” and went on to describe Truss as “a true friend of Israel”.
“We will continue to strengthen the partnership between the countries,” he added.
If the move goes ahead, it will see Britain following the US, who under the administration of former President Donald Trump moved the US embassy to the holy city, after recognising Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, despite its disputed status under international law. Palestinian leaders see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
Three other countries, namely Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo have followed Washington’s lead. However, last month the Honduran foreign ministry said it was considering moving its embassy back to Tel Aviv.
Last month, before becoming prime minister, Truss told the Conservative Friends of Israel that she would consider Britain’s long-standing policy of maintaining its embassy in Tel Aviv if she became the British leader.
“I understand the importance and sensitivity of the location of the British Embassy in Israel. I’ve had many conversations with my good friend Prime Minister Yair Lapid on this topic,” she said.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
