Signs removed from British consulate in Jerusalem after closure due to sanctions over Judea & Samaria

Israel and Britain have reached a compromise agreement on the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Thursday. 

According to that agreement, the British consulate will cease to function as an official consulate but will be allowed to maintain a “very limited scope of activity,” with only seven British diplomats. 

In a statement posted to 𝕏, Foreign Minister Sa’ar announced that “the British Consulate in Jerusalem has concluded its operations today. The Consul General and 20 diplomats (including the Consul General) are ending their assignments and will leave Israel.” 

Sa’ar acknowledged that the building housing the consulate is “the property of the British government,” saying that Israel has “authorized the British government to operate a task force of only seven diplomats within the building – which has ceased to function as a consulate as of today – with a very limited scope of activity.” 

He also placed the blame for the diplomatic row squarely on the shoulders of the Labour Government, saying, “We believe in dialogue and will continue to do so. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been no genuine dialogue with the Labour government.” 

Sa’ar affirmed that Israel maintains “good relations” with Britain, which he said is demonstrated “in security and intelligence cooperation,” noting that “Just recently, Israel provided Britain with vital information regarding the RAF Fairford affair.” 

The announcement came after diplomatic relations between the two governments were looking increasingly shaky, with Britain threatening to expel 27 Israeli diplomats from its country over the closure of the East Jerusalem consulate, which almost entirely services Palestinians. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv provides consular services for British-Israeli Jews. 

However, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband pushed back on Sa’ar’s characterization of the events. In a statement, Miliband said Israel lacks the “legal right” to close the consulate. 

“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. “The UK government reiterates its long-standing view that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.” 

“Following discussions with the Government of Israel, our Consulate General building will not be closing, and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from today,” Miliband claimed. “The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people.” 

British media reported that the 20 staff leaving the East Jerusalem consulate would move to the Tel Aviv embassy, contradicting Sa'ar's claim that they would leave the country.

Miliband also said that “The UK stands steadfast by the measures we took on 8 September,” saying they were done “in support of a two-state solution to deliver peace and security for the people of Israel and Palestine.” 

However, despite Miliband’s words, workers were seen removing the signage from the front of the British Consulate. The British flag was still seen flying over the building after the signs were removed. 

Foreign Minister Sa’ar cautioned that there is a potential for future flare-ups, saying, “I cannot guarantee that there will be no further crises in the future. Should they arise, we will face them while standing firm on our principles.” 

“It is important to emphasize once again that we did not initiate the current crisis,” he added. 

Sa’ar also said that Israel’s actions demonstrate that attempts to control its behavior will not succeed. 

“We seek good relations with all nations. However, any country that acts against Israel must know there will be a price to pay,” Sa’ar stated. “It will gain nothing from doing so; quite the opposite.” 

“The era of Israeli containment has ended – in both the security and diplomatic arenas,” he concluded.