Theresa May: UK will not move its embassy to Jerusalem

British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday that her country had no plans to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said the UK’s position has not changed, and that it disagreed with US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy from Tel Aviv.

“The PM said in December when the announcement was first made that we disagree with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement,” the spokesman said. “The British embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it.”

Britain was one of 128 countries that in December voted in favor of a United Nations resolution condemning the Trump administration’s recognition earlier that month of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and calling on countries not to move their diplomatic missions to the city.

Even though the United Kingdom is in the process of negotiating its exit from the European Union, its policy on Jerusalem matches that of the bloc.

The EU had previously vehemently rejected any attempt to change Jerusalem’s status in the absence of a final peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

Trump’s announcement delighted the Israeli government, but angered Palestinians who claim the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future Palestinian state,.

On Monday afternoon, the new embassy was being dedicated in a celebratory ceremony hosted by US ambassador David Friedman, and attended by a large US delegation and hundreds of dignitaries.

Meanwhile Monday, dozens of Palestinians were killed in violent demonstrations on the Gaza border.