The former finance minister, Rishi Sunak, and the candidate for the British prime minister, sparked controversy because of his statements in which he threatened to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem if he wins the elections, while recent opinion polls showed that Foreign Minister Liz Truss is in a good position and is still in the lead.

During a panel discussion organized by the Friends of Israel wing of the Conservative Party, Sunak said, “For me, there is no dispute that Jerusalem is the historical capital of Israel, and there is a strong motive for it to be so, and what I was saying is that I am open to considering moving the embassy because there is a very strong case for taking this A historical and practical step.

WATCH: @RishiSunak says he is open to looking at moving British Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

There is a "very strong case" to take this "historic and practical step", he adds pic.twitter.com/gkpPWTH6cr

— CFoI (@CFoI) August 17, 2022

Sunak added, "I have never been a foreign minister, so I do not know the nature of the sensitive issues that postpone this decision until now, but if I win the elections, I will look into the matter and issue the decision immediately, as our American allies did."

This parliamentarian of Indian origin seeks to seize the presidency of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, to succeed Boris Johnson, who announced his resignation in early July.

Sunak said that if he wins the British prime ministership, he will immediately issue a decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem (Getty Images)

Liz Truss is in the lead

On the other hand, a new opinion poll published Thursday showed that Secretary of State Liz Truss - who is in the lead - appears to be in a very good position to succeed Johnson as prime minister in September.

Truss leads rival Sunak by 32 points.

It was supported by 66% of the "Conservative" party members, according to a poll conducted by YouGov Institute in cooperation with the "Sky News" network, without taking into account the 13% of the members who have not yet made a decision.

Two weeks ago, Truss scored a 38-point lead in a YouGov poll conducted in cooperation with The Times.


The intense debates in recent weeks between the two candidates to succeed Johnson focused on the tense economic and social situation, where inflation exceeded 10% and many sectors witnessed strikes in the face of the erosion of purchasing power.

Johnson was forced to resign on July 7, after more than 50 resignations from the ruling political team, following scandals surrounding him and repeated lies issued by him, according to the French Press Agency.