The United Kingdom’s consulate in east Jerusalem has ceased operations, and 20 diplomats will leave Israel under a new understanding reached between Jerusalem and London, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Thursday.
However, the office will remain open after Sa’ar “authorized the British government to operate a task force of only seven diplomats in the building, which has ceased to be used as a consulate today, with a very limited scope of activity.”
According to Sa’ar, the British government will not take any action against Israel as a result of the implementation of the September order that led to the consulate’s closure.
“We established a clear principle: It is not possible to act against Israel without Israel taking appropriate measures in response. In this spirit, the measures I announced on 8 September have been implemented: 1. The removal of the British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat. 2. The termination of British activity to train Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria. 3. The denial of entry to Israel to 12 British elected officials and other British citizens involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity, as well as those who deny our very right to exist. 4. The British Consulate in Jerusalem is ending its operations today. Accordingly, the sign of the British Consulate in Jerusalem has been removed,” Sa’ar said.
“We did not want to reach this point, but the actions of the UK Labour Government brought us here. Their latest decision in this series was to initiate a range of far-reaching sanctions against the communities in Judea and Samaria, as well as additional sanctions on defense exports to Israel. All this was accompanied by hostile rhetoric, including false accusations against Israel, such as accusations of ‘ethnic cleansing.'” Sa’ar said.
“This decision adds to a growing and escalating series of unilateral measures against Israel adopted by the Labour Government since taking office in July 2024,” Sa’ar continued.
“These measures included, among others, unilateral recognition of a virtual ‘Palestinian state’ in September 2025; the renewal of funding to UNRWA; the suspension of licences for defence exports to Israel; the imposition of sanctions on Israeli ministers; the imposition of sanctions on Israeli individuals and entities; the suspension of negotiations on a free trade agreement; restrictions on Israel’s official participation in an international defence and security equipment exhibition in Britain; the freezing of military dialogue and security cooperation; the prevention of IDF officers from participating in training at the Royal College of Defence Studies; and repeated, biased and unilateral attacks against Israel in the international arena,” Sa’ar added.
“Over the past week, we held a dialogue with the British Government with the aim of preventing further deterioration in relations between the countries as a result of the closure of the Consulate,” he said.
Last night, we reached understandings based on the following principles: These principles are: 1. As I announced, the British Consulate in Jerusalem ended its role today. The consul-general and 19 diplomats are ending their assignments and will leave Israel. 2. The building that served as the Consulate is the property of the British Government. We have allowed the British Government to operate a task force of only seven diplomats from the building, which ceased to function as a consulate today. Their scope of activity will be very limited. 3. We agreed on the continuation of dialogue between the governments, within which both sides will be able to raise issues important to them,” Sa’ar clarified.
“We believe in dialogue and will continue to believe in dialogue. Unfortunately, in recent years, no genuine dialogue has taken place with the Labour Government,” he said.
Israel provided UK with ‘vital information in RAF Fairford affair,’ Sa’ar says
“This is despite good relations with Britain, reflected, among other things, in security and intelligence cooperation. Relations between Israel and Britain are important and have repeatedly proven their value also in protecting the lives and interests of British citizens. Only recently, Israel provided Britain with vital information in the RAF Fairford affair,” Sa’ar said.
“All four measures in my statement of 8 September have been implemented. Alongside this, we reached understandings that serve Israel’s interests. In accordance with the understandings we reached, no measures will be taken against Israel as a result of the implementation of the decisions. I thank everyone who was involved in the dialogue and discussions and contributed to reaching the understandings on both sides,” he continued.
“I cannot promise that there will not be further crises in the future. If there are, we will face them on the basis of our core principles. It is important to emphasize again that we did not initiate the current situation. We are interested in good relations with all the countries of the world. But any country that acts against Israel must know that there will be a price for doing so. It will not gain from this, but quite the opposite. Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it,” Sa’ar emphasized.
UK’s Miliband insists Israeli government has no right to close British 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,” British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Thursday.
“The UK government reiterates its long-standing view that east Jerusalem is occupied territory,” he added.
“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. The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services for the Palestinian people,” said Miliband.
“This will ensure that we maintain our longstanding British presence and the UK’s role in support of two-state solution,” he stated.
“Without an understanding [with Israel], we would not have the necessary assurances for the security and protections of our staff and premises. Accordingly, the UK has temporarily withdrawn a number of staff and families to ensure their safety and security,” Miliband said.
“We will work in the coming months to build back up our presence, and we will not take reciprocal action while such discussions are underway and credible. The UK stands steadfast by the measures we took on 8 September, in concert with the international community, in support of a two-state solution to deliver peace and security for the people of Israel and Palestine,” he concluded.
Consulate signs, plaques removed from building
According to a Reuters report, consulate workers removed signs and plaques at the British consulate overnight.
Reuters journalists saw workers in the consulate remove a plaque reading “British Consulate General” and another sign for its consular section. The British flag was still flying over the building.
Israel last month ordered Britain to close the consulate within 30 days and remove its diplomats from the city, after Britain announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including a trade ban on goods made there.
UK embassy in Tel Aviv to remain open
The closure order does not affect Britain’s embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel’s government.
The British sanctions announcement and Israel’s order to close the consulate mark a low in a relationship that has deteriorated over the past three years.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government has accused Britain’s governing Labour Party of being hostile towards Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report.
