Reactions continue to British Prime Minister Liz Terrace's statements regarding her explicit recognition of her support for Israel and her pledge to review the location of the current British embassy in Tel Aviv, at a time when the Israeli occupation authorities are targeting Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.
The Palestinian Authority expressed its concern over Britain's intention to study the location of its embassy in Israel for the purpose of moving it from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Today, Thursday, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh received, in his office in Ramallah, the Director of Middle East and North African Affairs at the British Foreign Office Stephen Hickey, and discussed with him the danger of Teras declaring its intention to “review” the website of the British Embassy in Israel, in the presence of the British Consul General in Jerusalem. Diane Corner.
Shtayyeh said that the possibility of moving the embassy to Jerusalem would "undermine the two-state solution" and harm any future political process by removing Jerusalem from the files of the final solution, not to mention that it contradicts international law and UN resolutions and "the British position that Jerusalem is an occupied city."
"I'm a big Zionist"
Two days ago, activists circulated on social media a video clip of the British Prime Minister, at a party held last Sunday in Birmingham, declaring her support for Israel and describing herself as "the great Zionism."
"As you know, I'm a big Zionist, a huge supporter of Israel, and I know we can take the relationship between the UK and Israel from strength to strength," said Liz Truss.
Trass' statements came in the video clip circulating during a speech she delivered at a meeting of the Conservative Friends of Israel, or what is known as CFI for short.
"I am a big Zionist and one of the strongest supporters of Israel." British Prime Minister Liz Truss flirts with Israel during the "Conservative Friends of Israel" party and provokes widespread criticism
- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) October 4, 2022
Continuation of Britain's crime
For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) considered the British Prime Minister's statements an aggression against the Palestinian people.
A member of the movement's leadership abroad, Sami Abu Zuhri, said - in a statement - that the statements "are a continuation of Britain's crime against the Palestinian cause", which began since the Balfour Declaration more than 100 years ago.
The movement's spokesman, Jihad Taha, stressed that the statements "identify with the crimes of the occupation that are being committed daily against the Palestinian people."
violation of international law
The Guardian reported on September 30 that Arab diplomats had urged Terrace not to go ahead with the decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
The Arab ambassadors in London said, according to the British newspaper, "that the plan may jeopardize talks on the free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council."
An article published by the British newspaper, The Independent, warned that moving the British embassy in Israel to Jerusalem would be a departure from the decades-old British policy on the Palestinian issue, and a clear violation of international law if the government of Prime Minister Liz Truss did it.
“I am a great Zionist,” British Prime Minister Liz Terrace declared during a party with “Friends of Israel,” during which she pledged “absolute and sincere support for Israel.” From the existence and survival of Israel pic.twitter.com/AHk0UhkztU
— A Mansour Ahmed Mansour (@amansouraja) October 4, 2022
Two days ago, Middle East Eye revealed a memo from the Conservative Friends of Israel group inciting the British government to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The memo sent to pro-Israel Conservative MPs states that Britain "actually owns land for the embassy in Jerusalem".
UK Prime Minister: “I'm a huge Zionist.”
US President: "I'm a proud Zionist."
But neither one of them is a Jew.
Both want to advance human rights around the world, while coddling a racist and genocidal ethno-nationalist ideology.
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) October 3, 2022
Israeli welcome
On September 22, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid welcomed his British counterpart Liz Truss's intention to move her country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He thanked Tras in a tweet on Twitter, "which announced that it was thinking positively of moving the British embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel," stressing his keenness to strengthen the partnership with London.
מודה לידידתי הטובה, ראשת ממשלת ליז טראס טראס שהודיעה כי היא שוקלת את העברת שגרירות בריטניה בירת ישראל- אנחנו נמשיך את השותפות בין המדינות 🇮🇱🇬🇧 🇮🇱🇬🇧
צילום: אבי אוחיון, לע״מ pic.twitter.com/0DZB0TGMsl
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 22, 2022
Britain has an embassy in Tel Aviv responsible for relations with the Israelis, and a consulate general in East Jerusalem responsible for relations with the Palestinians.
The vast majority of countries around the world refrain from moving their embassies to Jerusalem, because they do not recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation of its eastern part, which took place in 1967. But the United States of America moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018, followed by Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo.
And Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, and later announced its annexation to Israel and its unification with the western part, considering it a "unified and eternal capital", which the international community refuses to recognize.