Most UK diplomats to leave East Jerusalem after Israeli deadline

Most British diplomats will leave the UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem after an Israeli deadline to close the facility expired on Thursday. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that 20 diplomats and the Consul General would leave Israel, while a task force of seven staff members could remain in the building with limited activity. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated that staff were temporarily withdrawn for security reasons, but stressed that the building will not close and will instead operate as a UK mission. [1][2][3][4]

Israel ordered the closure of the consulate in response to UK plans to impose sanctions and import bans on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Saar stated in September that Israel would act after London announced the measures. Former British consul Sir Vincent Fean told Al Jazeera that Israel is acting unlawfully by demanding the consulate shut down. [1][2][4]

The British consulate in East Jerusalem handles diplomatic relations with Palestinians separately from the main UK embassy in Tel Aviv, as FTMQ News reported earlier. East Jerusalem is considered occupied Palestinian territory under international law by the United Nations, while Israel considers the whole city its capital. [9][11][12]

The forced departure marks a low point in UK-Israeli relations, according to the Guardian. The newspaper previously reported that the UK government was considering the retaliatory expulsion of Israeli diplomats from London if the East Jerusalem consulate was forced to close. [3][12]