Israel orders British consulate closed

Israel issued a thirty-day deadline last month for Britain to close its consulate in Jerusalem after London announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a ban on trade in goods from there.

Last-minute compromise reached

Britain and Israel announced Thursday that the nearly two-hundred-year-old British diplomatic mission would stay open at a smaller scale with a new name, in a compromise after Israel ordered the consulate shut in a sanctions dispute.

Consulate renamed, staff reduced

Under the agreement, Britain renamed the consulate, founded in eighteen thirty-nine, as the UK Mission in the city. Israel said twenty British diplomats including the consul general would depart, leaving just seven working at the mission in a limited role.

Britain disputes Israel's legal right

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said his country does not accept that Israel has the legal right to close the consulate. The consulate is in a part of the city Israel captured in a nineteen sixty-seven war, which Israel later annexed in a move that most countries do not recognise.

“our Consulate General building will not be closing, and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from today”

Britain holds off on retaliation

Miliband said Britain had temporarily withdrawn a number of staff and families to ensure their safety and security and would work in the coming months to build back its presence. Britain agreed not to take reciprocal measures while discussions continue.

“We will not take reciprocal action while such discussions are underway and credible”

Tensions over Gaza and settlements

The closure order marks a new low in a relationship that has deteriorated over three years. Britain has repeatedly criticised Israel over its actions in the war in Gaza and over Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.