JERUSALEM: Israel has ordered the British Consulate in East Jerusalem to close within 30 days, escalating an increasingly bitter diplomatic dispute between two countries that have historically maintained close relations. Diplomats assigned to the consulate are also expected to lose their accreditation within that period.
British personnel attached to a U.S.-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, along with British diplomats based in Ramallah, have been told to leave within seven days, according to Reuters.
The Israeli action follows Britain’s announcement of new measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The UK plans to prohibit imports of goods from settlements and impose sanctions on individuals and companies involved in supporting or expanding them. France and Canada have announced similar trade measures, while several other European countries have backed the initiative.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has sharply criticized settlement expansion and violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, arguing that Britain could no longer restrict itself to condemning the situation without taking action.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded by describing the British measures as “morally distorted” and an unacceptable interference in Israel’s affairs. Israel also announced entry bans against several British figures, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Miliband said Wednesday that he regretted Israel’s decision to close the consulate but was not surprised by the response.
The status of the consulate gives the dispute particular diplomatic significance. The British Consulate in East Jerusalem handles Britain’s relations with the Palestinians and work relating to Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, while Britain’s ambassador to Israel is based at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Britain maintains that its new measures are directed at Israeli settlements and settlement expansion, not at Israel itself. Israel rejects that distinction and views the measures as hostile political interference.
The confrontation therefore goes well beyond the closure of a diplomatic building. It represents a significant deterioration in UK–Israel relations at a time when Gaza, the future of the West Bank and prospects for a two-state solution are already creating deep divisions among Israel and some of its traditional Western partners.
