More than 10,000 sign petition urging UK to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

Thousands have backed a petition urging Britain to follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead in recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

More than 10,000 people have signed the appeal to recognise the holy city as the Jewish state’s capital in just over three days since being launched by Christians United for Israel UK (CUFI UK).

Addressed to Theresa May and Boris, the petition calls for the government to make the move, insisting that: “Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is not a barrier to peace as some claim. Instead, accepting reality is the first step in working towards peace.”

Executive Director of CUFI-UK, Des Starritt, says, “As Christians, we believe that we should make a stand for Israel, even in the midst of such biased opposition. We are convinced that recognising Jerusalem, the Biblical capital for the Jewish people for over 3,000 years, is the right thing to do.”

Starritt continues: “In 1917 Britain lead the way and recognised the need for the Jewish people to have a national home of their own in the land of Israel. One hundred years later, Britain must recognise the reality of Jerusalem as the capital of that nation.”

Following the controversial decision taken by Donald Trump last week, Prime Minister Theresa May called the move “unhelpful”.

In a statement, she said the government “disagree[s] with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement.

“We believe it is unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region. The British Embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson issued concern over the move, and reiterated May’s stance, that the U.K. would not be moving the Embassy.

In the wake of the move, a wave of protests, some violent, spread across the Muslim and Arab world, and this week, members of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation met to discuss the “repercussions” of the decision.

Clashes have flared up in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and a series of rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israel, after Hamas leaders urged a Palestinian uprising.

You can view the petition by clicking here.