Israel Shuts UK Consulate in East Jerusalem, Downgrades It to 'British Mission'

The British government has said it will maintain a presence in East Jerusalem after Israel removed the sign from its consulate as diplomatic relations between the two countries deteriorated.

The removal of the sign came as Israel announced that 20 British diplomats, including the consul general, must leave the country and return home.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Thursday that the consulate building would be retained but downgraded to the "British Mission, Jerusalem".

The Israeli government's decision to close the consulate followed Miliband's announcement last month that Britain would ban transactions with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

What did Israel say about closing the consulate?

In a post on X on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reiterated that "no action can be taken against Israel without an appropriate retaliatory measure from Israel".

In response to the sanctions targeting West Bank settlements, Saar listed four steps Israel is taking against Britain, including:

• Withdrawing the British representative from the International Support Center for Gaza
• Ending British training of Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank
• Closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem
• Banning entry to Israel for 12 elected officials and other British citizens linked to "anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activity"

"We did not want to reach this point, but the actions of the Labour government have led us here," Saar wrote, arguing that the sanctions and "hostile rhetoric" about ethnic cleansing of Palestinians had forced Israel to act.

"The British Consulate in Jerusalem ended its mission today. The consul general and 20 diplomats are ending their mission and will leave Israel," he said, adding that although the building is owned by the British government, Israel would allow them to keep a team of seven diplomats in the building with "very limited scope of operation".

According to the Israeli foreign minister, the decision was also based on an agreement reached with the British government the night before.

But didn't Britain say its mission is still operating?

Yes.

In a statement, Miliband said the British government had made "clear" that it does not accept Israel's decision to close the consulate, which had existed for nearly 200 years, and reiterated "the long-standing view that East Jerusalem is occupied territory".

"The British Mission, Jerusalem operates independently, and will continue to provide essential services and our work with the Palestinian people.

"This ensures we maintain a long-term British presence and the UK's role in supporting the two-state solution.

"Without an agreement, we would not have the necessary guarantees for the security and protection of staff and premises. Britain has therefore temporarily withdrawn some staff and family members to ensure their safety," he said.

"We will work over the coming months to rebuild the presence and there will be no retaliatory action while such discussions are under way and have prospects."

"Britain stands firmly behind the measures we took on September 8, alongside the international community, to support the two-state solution that brings peace and security to Israelis and Palestinians," Miliband added.

Information about reciprocal action over the consulate closure, including expelling one Israeli diplomat for each British diplomat who must leave, was initially reported by Israel's Ynet, citing a message sent to Israeli officials.

On the consulate closure, UK Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Commonwealth and Development Stephen Doughty told BBC Radio on Thursday that the British government is continuing to talk with Israel on the matter.

"You can see what has changed in terms of the name, but what matters is that the presence remains," he said.

Asked about reports that Britain threatened to expel Israeli diplomats, the minister did not comment, but said they had discussed the matter with Israel in a "sober, responsible and practical debate".

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera correspondent Camille Nedelec said the consulate's downgrade marks "a low point in UK-Israel relations".

So is it a downgraded consulate?

Yes.

While a consulate mainly supports citizens, in this case British-Palestinian citizens, a mission usually refers to a diplomatic representation.

However, according to Vincent Fean, a former British consul general in Jerusalem, what the consulate is now called does not "matter".

"Israeli voters go to the polls on October 27 and I think the British government's plan is to wait for the election result and work with whichever government Israeli voters choose," Fean told Al Jazeera.

"I think the key point is that Ed Miliband acted rightly on September 8, specifically on the E1 issue - the red line - the settlement Israel is planning and which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says is designed to bury the two-state solution," he added. The E1 settlement is meant to connect Ma'ale Adumim and other illegal Israeli settlements to occupied East Jerusalem, splitting the West Bank in two.

The British consulate first opened in 1839 but closed in 1914 when World War I began. It was later re-established as a consulate general in 1948 after the British Mandate for Palestine ended.

What led to this situation?

Relations deteriorated after the new Labour government's decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers and illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Miliband announced the measures and said last month that imports of all goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank would be banned.

In his speech, he said there was "ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in West Bank areas - carried out by settler terrorists".

"The sanctions mechanism will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel," he said.

"We will continue to support important and valuable trade with Israel within the Green Line precisely because we support the two-state solution, including security and prosperity for Israel," he added.

However, Israel condemned last month's announcement and called it "a series of anti-Israel decisions by the Labour government".

Saar said "the accusations made today by the Labour government's foreign secretary in the British Parliament are blatant lies", and listed four retaliatory actions.

Is Israel's action legal?

No.

Because the British consulate is located in the part of Jerusalem that Israel captured in the 1967 war and has occupied since, it has no legal right to close the mission.

However, because Israel continues to occupy the Palestinian territories, in practice it decides what can operate in East Jerusalem.