EAST JERUSALEM — UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell failed to persuade Israeli officials to rescind the order closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem. The diplomatic mission faces a closure deadline of October 8, prompting the United Kingdom to threaten reciprocal expulsions of Israeli diplomats.

The UK has threatened to expel one Israeli diplomat for every British diplomat forced to leave Israel as a result of Israel’s decision to close the UK consulate in East Jerusalem. The threatened expulsions could involve multiple Israeli diplomats. Israel ordered the closure of the consulate in retaliation for the UK decision to ban trade in goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Jonathan Powell traveled to Jerusalem last week to persuade the Israeli government to rescind or defer the closure of the consulate. The talks between Powell and Israeli officials failed to reach an agreement to keep the consulate open. The UK government did not disclose Powell's visit to Israel. Powell served as Downing Street Chief of Staff under Tony Blair and was the chief British negotiator in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Sa’ar said Britain’s decision to impose sanctions was “morally distorted.” Sa’ar accused Britain’s ruling Labour party of being hostile towards Israel. The UK imposed sanctions on British firms that aid, support, or facilitate the construction of further illegal settlements. France and Canada joined the UK in the settlement trade ban. France and Canada have not had action taken against them by Israel regarding the settlement trade ban.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said settler terrorists, supported by Netanyahu’s government, are committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Israel disputes the claim that settler terrorists are committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Miliband has spoken of evidence of war crimes in Gaza.

Miliband has declined to accuse Israel of genocide on the grounds that he believes this is a matter for international courts alone to determine. The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s massacre of Israelis on 7 October 2023.

The UK recognizes East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory. The United Nations and most of its members recognize East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory. Former UK attorney general Dominic Grieve advised the Foreign Office informally that Israel is acting unlawfully if it closes the consulate on the basis it is sited in East Jerusalem.

The UK consulate in East Jerusalem operates separately from the UK embassy in Tel Aviv. The UK consulate in East Jerusalem covers East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The UK consulate in East Jerusalem is located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

The UK Foreign Office said it would not comment on speculation. The British embassy in Israel declined to comment on the reported threat.

Why It Matters

The closure order fits a documented pattern of diplomatic restrictions in East Jerusalem. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel has closed or restricted the operations of foreign consulates in East Jerusalem, citing sovereignty concerns. The number of diplomatic missions in East Jerusalem has declined, with several countries either closing their offices or relocating them to Tel Aviv due to political and legal pressures from Israel. The UK's National Security Adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove met with Israeli officials to discuss diplomatic relations, but no public record of a similar attempt to prevent the closure of a consulate has been documented prior to Jonathan Powell's visit.

The economic dimensions of the dispute involve significant trade flows. The UK government issued a report stating that a large majority of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank were exported to Israel, showing the economic entanglement between the settlements and the Israeli market. East Jerusalem has been a focal point of international disputes since the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel captured the eastern part of the city and later annexed it, a move not recognized by the international community. The United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision that was widely criticized by the international community as undermining the two-state solution and increasing tensions in the region.

Timeline

Israel ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem by October 8.

What's New

The official record states that Israel ordered Britain to close the East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days and remove its diplomats from the city, after Britain said it would ban goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The UK government did not disclose Jonathan Powell's visit to Israel.