Rishi Sunak junks Liz Truss’s plan to move British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after ex-PM ordered review as she mulled copying Donald Trump

• No10 says Rishi Sunak has ‘no plans’ relocate the British embassy in Israel
• His predecessor Liz Truss had promised a review when she was Prime Minister
• Downing St says the issue was ‘looked at’ and embassy won’t move from Tel Aviv 

Rishi Sunak has junked his predecessor Liz Truss’s plan to move the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Downing Street confirmed today.

No10 revealed the new Prime Minister had ‘no plans’ to pursue a controversial relocation of the British consulate in the Middle East country.

‘It has been looked at. There are no plans to move the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv,’ a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

During her short spell in power, Ms Truss had told the Israeli government she would review the current location of the British embassy.

After talks at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Israeli PM Yair Lapid claimed Ms Truss had told him she was ‘positively considering’ moving the embassy to Jerusalem.

Had such a relocation occurred, it would have marked a major shift in British foreign policy.

It would also have copied Donald Trump’s controversial action when he was US president.

Rishi Sunak has junked his predecessor Liz Truss’s plan to move the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

After talks at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Israeli PM Yair Lapid claimed Liz Truss had told him she was ‘positively considering’ moving the embassy to Jerusalem

Countries have usually been loathe to base their embassies in Jerusalem as it is regarded as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinian leadership.

The majority of international embassies in Israel are based in Tel Aviv, which is viewed as a more neutral choice.

In 2017, Britain joined other members of the UN Security Council to reject the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

It followed Mr Trump’s announcement of his decision to move the US embassy to the city, which prompted bloody protests.

The US embassy officially opened in Jerusalem in May 2018, which coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel. 

Former PM Theresa May condemned Mr Trump’s decision at the time.

She reiterated Britain’s ‘clear and long-standing’ position on Jerusalem’s status – that it should be determined as part of a peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians and should ultimately be a shared capital.

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