In a letter to King Charles III.. Muslim leaders in Jerusalem denounce the possibility of moving the British embassy to the holy city

The leaders of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem and its current and former mufti have sent a letter to the new British king to express their deep concern about the possible relocation of the UK embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to the British Middle East Eye website.

In the letter, which the site said it had seen, these leaders affirmed that they oppose moving the British embassy to Jerusalem because it would serve as a message to the world that “the United Kingdom, contrary to international law and the status quo, accepts the continuation of the illegal Israeli military occupation of Palestinian lands, and Israeli annexation.” unilateralism of East Jerusalem, not to mention the illegal Israeli measures to Judaize the holy city.”

The leaders of the Islamic Endowments, a Palestinian-Jordanian body that manages the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, and the current and former Muftis of Jerusalem, respectively: Sheikhs Muhammad Hussein and Ikrima Sabri, stressed their condemnation of the possible transfer of the embassy.

In their letter, these leaders reminded the new king that "Jerusalem has, over the centuries, remained a wonderful model of coexistence and peace among its religious communities."

They said, "The international community, including the United Kingdom, has recognized the special historical and legal situation, also known as the 'status quo', since 1852, in reference to a law issued by the Ottoman Empire that ruled Jerusalem and the Arab countries at the time, and is based on establishing the rights of all A sect and a religious group were present in Jerusalem without allowing any change to the situation since that date.

The signatories of the letter explained that this situation existed until 1967, "when Israel began to impose many unilateral measures in the interest of its Jewish identity/community."

"The international community, through several United Nations resolutions, rejected the unilateral Israeli measures, and called for the preservation of the pre-1967 status quo," the letter added.

In response to the letter, a spokesman for King Charles told Middle East Eye: "(This is) a matter for the UK government."

It is noteworthy that the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss said, in a meeting with her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last September, that she is considering moving the embassy to Jerusalem.