UK urges all Israeli parties to respect minorities

Britain on Thursday urged all politicians in Israel to respect minorities as Benjamin Netanyahu appeared set to return to power with the help of the far right.

"We would call on all Israeli parties to refrain from inflammatory language and demonstrate tolerance and respect for minority groups," a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters.

Sunak's new government also shot down a suggestion by previous prime minister Liz Truss that the UK embassy in Israel could be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"There are no plans to move the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv," the spokeswoman said, after Truss announced a review during her short-lived tenure.

"We looked at this issue under the previous administration and I can confirm there are no plans to move it."

The review, which could have seen Britain emulate former U.S. president Donald Trump in relocating its embassy, sparked alarm from the Palestinian government and Christian leaders in Jerusalem.

The 2018 move by Trump broke with decades of international consensus on the status quo in Jerusalem, which remains claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital.