PM Liz Truss could follow in Trump's footsteps with UK embassy move to Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid thanked his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, for announcing that she was considering moving the British embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem.

The two prime ministers met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City on Wednesday, as news of Truss's controversial statements were discussed.

Most embassies are based in Tel Aviv, rather than Jerusalem, which Israel considers its capital, due to the international view that no party has sovereignty over the holy city.

"I thank my good friend, British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who announced that she is positively considering moving the British Embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel - we will continue to strengthen the partnership between the countries," Lapid wrote on Twitter.

In a bid to strengthen her campaign when she was running for prime minister to replace Boris Johnson, Truss hinted to the UK lobby group Conservative Friends for Israel she would review moving the UK’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

This follows Donald Trump's hugely controversial decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and several key Israeli allies have followed.

Most of the world has rejected such a move and the announcement triggered a major stand-off between the US and Palestinian Authority.

The UK move would deal another heavy blow to the Palestinian cause and another hurdle for a two state solution.

Israel considers Jerusalem to be its eternal capital and refuses any partition, while some Palestinians wish occupied East Jerusalem – annexed in 1967 – to be the capital of any future state of theirs.