AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Senior Muslim leaders in Al-Quds have written to King Charles III expressing “deep concern” about UK Prime Minister Liz Truss’s decision to consider moving the British embassy from its current location in Tel Aviv, in a letter seen by Middle East Eye.
At a meeting with her Zionist counterpart, Yair Lapid, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Truss said she was considering moving the embassy to Al-Quds. She later announced that she had launched a review into the issue.
A statement addressed to Britain’s new monarch written by leaders of the Islamic Waqf, a Palestinian-Jordanian body that runs the affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Al-Quds, and the current and former grand muftis of Al-Quds and Palestine, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein and Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, respectively, condemned the potential relocation.
“Al-Quds has been a great example of coexistence and peace between its religious communities for centuries,” the joint letter said.
“The International Community, including the United Kingdom, recognized the special historic and legal arrangement, also known as the ‘Status Quo’ since 1852.”
The letter stated that the special status of protecting the rights of different religions continued until 1967, “when Israel started to impose many unilateral measures in favor of its Jewish identity/community”.
Meanwhile, the Arab Parliament has denounced the British government’s plan to relocate its embassy, saying the move would constitute a flagrant violation of international law.
The legislative body of the Arab League in a statement on Wednesday reacted strongly to reports about the potential relocation of the British embassy, in what could jettison a longstanding policy of British governments.
“The legal, historical and religious status of Al-Quds is not subject to review, and any step in this direction amounts to a flagrant violation of international law and of the historical responsibilities of Britain as the architect of the illegal Balfour Declaration, whose tragedy has long haunted the Palestinian nation,” said the statement.