UK renames East Jerusalem consulate as a mission; some diplomats to remain | Israel-Palestine conflict News

UK Foreign ⁠Minister ⁠Ed Miliband says consulate building in occupied East Jerusalem will not be closing as Israeli deadline expires.

British Foreign ⁠Secretary ⁠Ed Miliband says the United Kingdom’s consulate in occupied ⁠East Jerusalem will continue operations on a smaller scale and be known as a “UK mission” after Israel ordered it to close in a diplomatic dispute.

Israel had ordered the consulate to be shut down by Thursday over the UK’s plans to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday that Israel has authorised the UK to continue operating from the building in a limited scope with seven diplomats.

He said 20 diplomats, including the British consul general, were ending their assignments and would leave Israel.

Earlier on Thursday, journalists from the Reuters news agency saw ‌workers remove a plaque reading “British Consulate General” from the building, as well as another sign for its consular section. The UK flag was still flying over the building.

Miliband said his country does not accept that Israel has the legal right to close the consulate. The consulate is in a part of Jerusalem that Israel captured in a ‌1967 war and has occupied ever since.

Miliband said in a statement that after discussions with Israel, “our Consulate General building will not be closing, and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from today.”

Miliband said the mission “will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people”.

Strained ties

Thursday marks 30 days since Israel ordered the closure of the consulate. The move was in response to the UK’s sanctions on Israeli settlements, including a ban on importing goods produced there.

“We have established a clear principle – no action can be taken against Israel without Israel taking appropriate retaliatory measures,” Saar wrote in a post on X.

He said the measures were implemented “in this spirit” after his September 8 announcement.

The United Nations and most countries consider the settlements illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.

Miliband said ⁠that having withdrawn ⁠a number of staff and families in recent weeks, the UK would now ⁠work to build up its presence.

He said ⁠the UK would not ⁠take any reciprocal action against Israel while the two sides engage in ‌talks, after speculation that the UK could expel several Israeli ‌diplomats.

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Camille Nedelec said the downgrading of the consulate to a mission marks “a low point in UK-Israeli relations”.

“We understand that there are dozens of diplomats who are now leaving or have already left,” she said.

Israel has been adamant the consulate will close even as the UK has sought to keep it open, including sending the country’s top national security adviser to Israel last week for talks.

The UK’s presence in the city dates back almost 200 years, long before the state of Israel was established in 1948. The closure order does not affect the UK’s embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel’s government.

The consulate in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem handles the UK’s relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, ‌the occupied West ⁠Bank and Gaza. It also provides consular services to Palestinians.

Despite the current strains, the ⁠UK and Israel are close economic, security and intelligence partners.