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Reuters reported that workers removed a plaque reading “British Consulate General” and another sign for its consular section overnight on Thursday, although the British flag remained flying over the building in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The action followed the expiration of a 30-day Israeli order to shut the consulate and remove its diplomats. There was no immediate comment from the consulate itself according to the news agency. The order had been issued last month in response to Britain’s announcement of sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank including a ban on trade in goods produced there.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that the British consulate had ceased its operations as a consulate with the sign removed. Sa’ar added that the consul general and 20 diplomats would leave Israel while a task force of seven diplomats would remain with a very limited scope of activity. “We did not want to reach this point but the actions of the UK Labour Government brought us here,” Sa’ar said according to reports from the Jerusalem Post and other outlets. The Israeli government had described the UK measures as accompanied by hostile rhetoric including false accusations.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement that following discussions with the Israeli government the consulate general building would not be closing. “We have been clear that we do not accept that the Government of Israel has the legal right to close the British Consulate General in Jerusalem which has been there for nearly 200 years,” Miliband stated. He added that the UK government reiterates its long-standing view that east Jerusalem is occupied territory and that the site would be known as the UK Mission Jerusalem from Thursday while remaining independent and operational.
The mission will continue to deliver vital services for the Palestinian people according to Miliband’s statement carried by AP News and BBC. Britain said it would not take reciprocal measures such as expelling Israeli diplomats while discussions to rebuild staff continue. The AP News reported that the dispute marked one of the biggest diplomatic frictions between the close allies in decades.
The consulate which has operated in East Jerusalem for nearly two centuries handles Britain’s relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem the West Bank and Gaza and provides consular services to them Reuters noted. It functions separately from the British embassy in Tel Aviv which manages diplomatic relations with the Israeli government and remains unaffected by the order. The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal under international law a position Israel disputes according to multiple agency reports.
Miliband’s statement emphasised that the UK Mission Jerusalem would stay independent and continue its work with Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli officials indicated that the scaled-down presence would report directly to the UK Foreign Office under the agreed principles. The arrangement allows the building owned by the British government to maintain a diplomatic role despite the removal of consulate identifiers.
