Rishi Sunak has dumped Liz Truss’s plan to move the UK’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Downing Street announced last month that a “review of the current location” in Tel Aviv was underway after Truss held talks with Israeli caretaker leader, Yair Lapid at the UN general assembly in New York.
The plan echoed former US president Donald Trump’s controversial decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Both the Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital, making its status one of the most controversial issues in the Middle East conflict.
Moving the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would have been seen by many as an inflammatory act.
But a Number 10 spokesperson revealed today that the embassy would be staying where it is.
She said: “There are no plans to move the UK Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv. It was looked at but there are no plans.”
Truss’s proposals had caused a furious backlash, with religious leaders urging Truss to think again.
A spokesperson for Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said he was “concerned about the potential impact” before “a negotiated settlement between Palestinians and Israelis has been reached”.
Tory MP Crispin Blunt, who is a director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, told The Guardian: “This review needs concluding now with the endorsement of the status quo.”