Truss, when prime minister, ordered a review of whether the UK should follow the Trump administration in moving the embassy from Tel Aviv. Asked if the UK government was still considering a move, a No 10 spokesman said: “It has been considered. There are no plans to move the British embassy.” The development came after British government officials told a group of foreign journalists that “there are no plans to move the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem”, a statement welcomed by the Palestinian mission in the UK. Truss had told outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid he was carrying out the review when the two met on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York in September. The proposal has drawn opposition from British church leaders, pro-Palestinian groups, Arab ambassadors in London, European foreign ministries and some Conservative MPs whose constituencies have large Muslim populations. But the manner of the apparent U-turn, stealthy even by British Foreign Office standards, was curious, coming just days after Sunak met with Israeli and Arab diplomats to mark the second anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords, the which led to diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab countries. An enthusiastic supporter of Israel, Sunak met with a group of Israelis and Gulf Arabs and diplomats on Wednesday in the UK to praise the Abraham deals as the dividend of diplomacy. “The agreements have ushered in a new era of relations in trade, tourism, security and more. This is the dividend of diplomacy,” he said. He added: “It has been almost exactly 45 years since Anwar Sadat traveled to Israel to address the Knesset. With [the] According to Abraham, our generation took the torch. Now we must continue the journey. We must show that by working more closely together we can deliver lasting peace, stability and prosperity. And more than anything we can offer hope.” The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, welcomed the clarification on the embassy’s move, saying: “We would like to thank the UK government, religious leaders, activists and members of the public whose efforts have helped to remain the UK under international law on this matter. The question about the location of the UK embassy should never have been raised in the first place.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. At a Conservative Friends of Israel event in August, Sunak said Jerusalem was “undoubtedly the historic capital [of Israel]. Clearly, there’s a very strong case for it to be recognized … so it’s something I’d like to do.” He said: “You will have my full commitment that I will fight very hard for the safety of the people in Israel.”
