No plans to move UK's Israel embassy to Jerusalem - No 10

Downing Street has said there are no plans to move the UK's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Liz Truss had ordered a review of the embassy's location when she was prime minister.

The spokesperson of new PM Rishi Sunak said the idea "had been looked at" but the embassy would not be moving.

A move would have been contentious, with the Palestinians previously calling Ms Truss's proposal a "blatant violation of international law".

The opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem in 2018 was met with outrage across the Arab world.

Ms Truss raised the idea of relocating the embassy during this summer's Conservative leadership campaign.

During her brief period as prime minister she discussed it with her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid when they met at the UN in New York.

Mr Lapid later tweeted his thanks to Ms Truss for "positively considering" it.

On Twitter, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, said: "Any embassy move would be a blatant violation of international law and the UK's historic responsibilities.... such a promise is immoral, illegal and irresponsible!"

Ms Truss was forced to quit as prime minister after just 45 days, after her tax plans triggered turmoil in the markets. Conservative MPs selected Rishi Sunak to replace her.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Israel sees the entire city as its eternal, undivided capital while Palestinians claim the eastern part as the capital of their hoped-for future state.

East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, were captured by Israel from Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war and have since been viewed internationally as occupied Palestinian territory.

The UK - like most other countries - has kept its embassy in Tel Aviv, rather than in bitterly contested Jerusalem, holding that it should only move to the holy city after a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Britain has a consulate in East Jerusalem.

Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo have followed the US in moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

While US President Joe Biden has renewed Washington's commitment to a two-state solution, he has not gone back on the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.