Most UK Diplomats to Leave East Jerusalem Consulate, Miliband Says ‘Vital Services’ to Remain

Most diplomats will leave the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, Israel says, but the UK insists the building “will not be closing”, and will operate as a “UK Mission”.
“We did not want it to come to this,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on social media, as he said 20 diplomats and the consul general would leave Israel while a task force of seven could remain in the building “with a very limited scope of activity”.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband responded that some staff had been “temporarily withdrawn” for security reasons, but stressed the mission will “work with the Palestinian people”.
Israel said in September it would shut the consulate, in retaliation for UK sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank which are illegal under international law.
The UK government had made last-ditch efforts to persuade Israel not to close the British consulate ahead of Thursday’s deadline, after the Israeli government said it would close the consulate within 30 days of the UK sanctions announcement.
The consulate, which was first established in 1838, handles UK relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem as well as in the West Bank and Gaza.
It is distinct from the UK embassy in Tel Aviv, which is the UK’s main diplomatic hub with Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the country had implemented measures announced on 8 September in response to UK sanctions.
“The British Consulate in Jerusalem is closing its operations today. Accordingly, the sign of the British Consulate in Jerusalem has been removed,” he wrote on social media.