Israel Orders UK to Close East Jerusalem Consulate Within 30 Days
Israel orders Britain to close its East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days after UK sanctions Israeli settlements, with diplomats given deadlines to leave.
Raja Awais Ali
9/9/20263 min read
Israel Orders UK to Close East Jerusalem Consulate Within 30 Days
Israel has ordered Britain to close its consulate in East Jerusalem within 30 days, marking a significant escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The order was issued on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, one day after Britain, France and Canada announced new measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to Israeli officials and sources familiar with the matter, British diplomats working at the consulate will also lose their diplomatic status after 30 days.
The British Consulate in East Jerusalem represents the UK government on Palestinian-related matters across Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Its presence in Jerusalem dates back to 1839. Under Israel’s latest decision, the consulate will have to close within the 30-day period, while British officials assigned to a US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel and British diplomats based in Ramallah have been given seven days to leave.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Wednesday that he regretted Israel’s decision but was not surprised by the move. He said the British government had considered the costs and benefits of taking action and concluded that it could not stand by while concerns over the situation in the West Bank continued. Miliband had previously accused Israel of turning a blind eye to violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
Israel has also announced further measures against Britain. The UK will no longer be permitted to train Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, while 12 British lawmakers and other British nationals will be banned from entering Israel. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a longstanding critic of Israeli policies, is among those facing the entry ban.
The Israeli response follows new British restrictions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Britain has banned imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements and announced additional measures against companies and individuals providing services to settlements, including construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate services. France and Canada have announced similar restrictions on imports from Israeli settlements, while nine other countries, including Denmark and Portugal, have endorsed the British action.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has strongly criticised the measures, describing the actions by Britain and its allies as interference in Israel’s affairs and electoral process. Israel is preparing for an election next month. Saar also thanked Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for criticising the British government’s sanctions. Badenoch argued that the Labour government was putting party-political interests ahead of Britain’s national interest.
The United States has so far responded cautiously to the dispute. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington did not want to see anything destabilising in the West Bank but did not specifically comment on Britain’s new sanctions against Israeli settlements.
The Israeli government is also expected to discuss further responses to the other countries that have either imposed similar measures or supported Britain’s action. The latest developments come as Israel faces growing international criticism over its conduct of the war in Gaza, the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and increasing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October 2023.
Britain, France and Canada formally recognised the State of Palestine in 2025 and have previously taken measures against Israeli settlements and Israeli ministers over allegations of encouraging violence against Palestinians. The latest sanctions are widely viewed as an important but largely symbolic step because goods from Israeli settlements represent only a small portion of Israel’s exports. However, the measures reflect growing diplomatic disagreements between Israel and several countries that have traditionally maintained close relations with it.
Israel’s decision to order the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, remove the diplomatic status of its staff after 30 days, restrict British involvement in training Palestinian security forces and impose entry bans on British nationals represents a broader retaliatory response to the latest settlement-related sanctions. With Israel preparing for an election next month and several Western governments taking increasingly critical positions on its settlement policy, relations between Britain and Israel have entered a new and more openly confrontational phase.
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