Aroused criticism from the opposition and former diplomats .. Why is Britain moving to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?

British Prime Minister Liz Truss informed her Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, that she is considering moving her country's embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem, and if the decision is made, Britain will follow in the footsteps of the United States and other countries despite the almost unanimity international law that this is contrary to the resolutions of international legitimacy.

Lapid praised Terrace, who had announced her intention to move the embassy to occupied Jerusalem in a letter to the so-called "Friends of Israel" from the Conservative Party, before winning the party's leadership and becoming prime minister to succeed Boris Johnson.

Lapid said - in a tweet to him on Twitter - that he thanked the "dear friend" Teres for the interest in moving the British embassy to Jerusalem, and described his British counterpart as a true friend of Israel, noting that they would make the alliance between the United Kingdom and Israel stronger.

The British government has not set a time frame for the embassy move, but the new prime minister's stance has drawn criticism from former British diplomats who said a Palestinian state should be waited for.

Opponents of the Conservative government also criticized this move, and former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn told Al Jazeera Mubasher that the Prime Minister had no right to move her country's embassy to Jerusalem without consulting Parliament.

Corbyn expressed his belief that the Israeli lobby and the Israeli government had an influence on Terrace.

Lapid's tweet and the British government's statement also sparked strong discontent on the Palestinian side, and the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, Husam Zomlot, said in a tweet on Twitter, "It is very regrettable that Prime Minister Terrace, in her first appearance at the United Nations, pledged the possibility of violating international law with her promise to." Reconsider 'the site of the British Embassy in Israel,'" and added that "any move of the embassy would be a flagrant violation of international law and the historical responsibilities of the United Kingdom."

The Palestinian ambassador warned that the decision could "undermine the two-state solution, and inflame an already fragile situation in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories."

It is extremely unfortunate that Prime Minister @trussliz uses her first appearance at the UN to commit to potentially breaking international law by promising a "review" of the location of the British embassy to Israel 1/3 https://t.co /qgC1QnIUhi

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) September 22, 2022

Four years ago, the United States moved its embassy to occupied Jerusalem, and 3 other countries, Kosovo, Guatemala and Honduras, followed suit, while politicians in countries such as Romania promised similar steps.

Israel is actively diplomatically active to persuade more countries to move their embassies to occupied Jerusalem, and believes that any step in this direction will further consolidate its claim that Jerusalem is its "unified and eternal capital", contrary to what is stipulated in Security Council resolutions that consider the eastern part of Jerusalem - which includes Islamic holy sites. Christianity - under occupation.

Ivanka Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem (Getty)

Countries that moved their embassies to Jerusalem

The

: In May 2018, by a decision of US President Donald Trump at the time, the embassy was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The decision aroused Palestinian, Arab and Islamic anger, which was translated by condemning positions and demonstrations.

The United Nations General Assembly also issued a resolution condemning the transfer of the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem, and 128 countries, including Britain, Germany and Canada, voted in favor of the resolution.

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Just two days after moving the US embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018, Guatemala took a similar step, and was among the few countries that supported the US President’s decision to consider occupied Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The opening ceremony of the embassy in Jerusalem was attended by then Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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In the same month, Paraguay moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.

But after 4 months, the government of new President Mario Abdo Benitez decided to return the embassy to Tel Aviv, and justified this step by supporting a just peace, stressing that it was acting in accordance with the principles dictated by it.

The decision angered then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who decided to close the Israeli embassy in Asuncion.

Equatorial Guinea

: In February 2021, the president of this former Spanish colony, Teodor Mbasogo, announced, in a phone conversation with Netanyahu, that his country would move its embassy to Jerusalem.

Mbasogo said at the time that "Africa" ​​is opening its arms to Israel, while Netanyahu said that Israel is returning to Africa.

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In mid-March 2021, Kosovo announced that it had officially opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, after establishing diplomatic relations with Israel in early February of the same year.

At that time, the Chargé d'Affairs of Kosovo to Israel described the opening of the embassy as a historic event.

It traded Kosovo opening an embassy in Jerusalem with Israel's recognition of it, thus becoming the first European country to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

Hernandez, who made the decision to move the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem at the Western Wall (Reuters)

Honduras is retreating

Honduras

: This Central American country moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem in October 2021.

But in August 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras announced that his country was considering returning its embassy to Tel Aviv, noting that he had discussed the matter with President Ziamura Castro, who is the first woman to assume the presidency of Honduras.

The decision to move the embassy was made by former conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who considered himself an ally of Washington, but ironically, Hernandez was deported in 2022 to the United States to stand trial on drug charges.

embassy and aid

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In late May 2022, the Israeli foreign minister at the time, Yair Lapid, who later became prime minister, announced that Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albert Ramdin, informed him in a meeting between them that his country would open an embassy in Jerusalem.

At that time, Lapid announced that his country would send "humanitarian aid" to the South American country to help its flood-affected residents.