LONDON: The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has raised warnings over UK prime minister Liz Truss’ seeming determination to move the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Truss told Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on the sidelines of last month’s UN summit in New York that she was considering the relocation, with commentators having expressed concern that she will pursue a more partisan approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict than her predecessor.
In a statement to the Jewish News on Friday, Welby’s spokesperson said: “The archbishop is concerned about the potential impact of moving the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before a negotiated settlement between Palestinians and Israelis has been reached.
“He is in touch with Christian leaders in the Holy Land and continues to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Amid the potential move, Truss has also highlighted a pending free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council as one of the cornerstones of her foreign policy agenda, but some Arab diplomats have warned the embassy move could jeopardize the deal.
Welby’s comments add to concerns voiced by Truss’ domestic political opponents, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats condemning discussion on the matter as a “provocation.”
Foreign affairs spokesperson for the Lib Dems, Layla Moran, said: “”The UK should under no circumstances be taking steps which risk inflaming tensions and damaging the prospects of peace.
“I have written to the foreign secretary to make clear moving the embassy should only come as part of a negotiated peace settlement, and that this review should accordingly be stopped.”
Despite the pushback, Truss said that she understood the “importance and sensitivity” over the embassy’s location but were a move to happen it would follow in the wake of the controversial decision of the Trump administration to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem.