The Palestinians said Thursday (September 22nd) that any decision by Britain to
"review the current location"
of their embassy in Israel would be a
"flagrant violation of international law"
.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, told her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on Wednesday of her intention to
"review the current location of the British Embassy in Israel,”
Downing Street said in a statement released in London.
Such a move would follow in the footsteps of former US President Donald Trump's controversial 2018 decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump had recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, thus arousing the ire of Palestinians who aspire to make the eastern part of the city the capital of their future state.
“I thank my good friend, British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has announced that she is looking favorably upon the relocation of the British Embassy to Jerusalem
,” Yair Lapid tweeted Thursday.
Any embassy move would be a flagrant violation of international law.”
Hossam Zomlot, Palestinian Ambassador to Britain
This possible decision aroused strong dissatisfaction on the Palestinian side.
"It is extremely regrettable that Prime Minister Truss, in her first appearance at the UN, is pledging to potentially violate international law by promising a
'review'
of the location of the British Embassy in Israel
," he said. said the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, Hossam Zomlot, on Twitter on Thursday.
"Any embassy move would be a flagrant violation of international law
," the Palestinian diplomat added.
Hossam Zomlot added that
“it would undermine the two-state solution and inflame an already volatile situation in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories... Such a promise is immoral, illegal and irresponsible!”
.
The vast majority of countries refrain from moving their embassies to Jerusalem, as they do not recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation of its eastern part since 1967. Jerusalem is home to both Judaism's holiest site and the third holy of Islam.
US President Joe Biden renewed Washington's long-standing call for a two-state solution, but did not reverse Trump's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
