Christian church leaders in Jerusalem voiced concern on Monday over British possible plans to relocate the UK Embassy in ‘Israel’ from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.
In a statement, the Council of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem said it noted “with grave concern the recent call” of new British Prime Minister Liz Truss to review the embassy’s location.
The Council of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem represents all denominations in the city, which is home to the holiest site in Christianity.
“This directive was in response to the request of the Conservative Friends of Israel, who seek to have the embassy moved from its present location in Tel Aviv to a new site in Jerusalem,” the church leaders said.
The council warned that the possible embassy relocation “would undermine the special status of Jerusalem and torpedo any political negotiations aimed at advancing peacemaking.”
It called on the UK to redouble its “diplomatic efforts towards facilitating the restart of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”
“The religious Status Quo in Jerusalem is essential for preserving the harmony of our Holy City and good relations between religious communities around the globe,” the council stated.
Britain’s review, they added, implied that there was no need for peace talks, and that “the continuing military occupation of those territories and the unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem are both acceptable.”
Truss said that she is weighing the relocation of Britain’s Israel embassy in Tel Aviv to the occupied city of Jerusalem – a decision that would follow former US President Donald Trump’s provocative move.
Truss told Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid about the move during a meeting at the United Nations summit in New York City on September 21.
During her campaign for the leadership of the British Conservative Party, Truss also told the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) lobby group that she would review the UK’s decision to remain in Tel Aviv if she became the British leader.
“I understand the importance and sensitivity of the location of the British Embassy in Israel. I’ve had many conversations with my good friend Prime Minister Yair Lapid on this topic,” she said.
About two week ago, Truss and other cabinet ministers attended an event organised by the CFI at the ruling party’s annual conference in Birmingham, telling the audience that she is a “huge Zionist and huge supporter of Israel” and pledged that she would “take the UK-Israel relationship from strength to strength”.
Speaking at the CFI’s event, Jake Berry, the Conservative party chairman, pledged his “unwavering commitment as chairman of the party that we will continue to build strong relationships with the state of Israel and to support it in its fight to ensure that it remains safe and that the capital in Jerusalem is the home to our new embassy.”
Robert Jenrick, the health minister, also alluded to UK government-owned land where an embassy could be built. Jenrick said, “We have a site in Jerusalem there waiting to go. It is time we took responsibility and built that embassy and recognised that the true capital of the state of Israel is obviously Jerusalem.”
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl and Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely attended the event, urging Truss to proceed with the embassy move.
The Board’s President told the audience,” We are really hopeful that the government is going to move the embassy, like America, to Jerusalem – the capital of Israel.” Hotovel also suggested that a “review” of the British embassy’s location ought to be pursued.
She told the packed event, “Nothing can be more significant to show the friendship between Israel and the UK than this step.” “There is just one capital to the UK, and that is London. There is just one capital to Israel, Jerusalem,” she continued.
“For the last two thousand years, it’s been Jerusalem, always our spiritual home. We can’t ignore the historic truth,” Hotovel said, claiming that the US decision to relocate its embassy to occupied Jerusalem “promoted peace.”
In 2017, former US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the occupied Jerusalem in May 2018, prompting criticism from the Palestinians, most Muslim-majority countries, and many states in Europe, as they concerned that it would undermine prospects for a two-state solution to the so-called “Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The UK, like most countries, currently has its embassy in Tel Aviv because of the disputed status of Jerusalem.
The UK prime minister at the time, Theresa May, criticized Trump’s move.
The United States, Honduras, Guatemala, and Kosovo are the only nations who have their embassies in occupied Jerusalem.
The Christian church leaders intervention from Jerusalem follows similar statements by church leaders in Britain.
A spokesperson for the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the senior bishop of the Anglican Church, last week told the UK website Jewish News he was “concerned about the potential impact of moving the British embassy” to Jerusalem.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the country’s most senior Catholic cleric, said on Thursday that relocating the embassy would “be seriously damaging to any possibility of lasting peace in the region.”
