Lapid hails UK premier comment on possible embassy move to Jerusalem

By Abdelraouf Arna'out

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday welcomed the comment of his British counterpart Liz Truss over reviewing the possibility of moving the UK embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Lapid thanked Truss on his Twitter account over the issue, adding he "will continue to strengthen the partnership between the two countries."

The UK has an embassy in Tel Aviv and a Consulate-General in occupied East Jerusalem responsible for the relations with the Palestinians.

Lapid met with Truss for the first time since they both became premiers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly 77th session in New York on Thursday.

Following the US relocation of its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, only a few countries followed it, including Honduras, Guatemala, and Kosovo, while many other countries opposed the decisions.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Mideast conflict, with Palestinians insisting that East Jerusalem -- illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 -- should serve as the capital of the Palestinian state.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara