Signage at UK consulate in East Jerusalem removed as deadline is over

Workers at the UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem have removed its signage as the Israeli shutdown deadline arrives, further damaging strained ties between allies.

Journalists from the Reuters news agency saw ‌workers remove a plaque reading “British Consulate General” from the building on Thursday, as well as another sign for its consular section. The UK flag was still flying over the building.

Israel says UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem ‘ending activities today’

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says the UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem “is ending its activities today”, adding that it will “continue operating under a limited capacity, and the signage on the consulate building has been removed accordingly”.

This comes 30 days after Saar demanded the consulate close in a month in response to the UK imposing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements and banning imported goods made there.

The British consulate has been in East Jerusalem since 1838.

UK renames Jerusalem consulate ‘UK Mission’

UK Foreign Minister Ed Miliband says the UK consulate building in occupied Jerusalem will not be closing but will be known as the “UK Mission” from today.

He reiterated the government’s “long-standing view” that East Jerusalem is occupied territory. He said that the UK Mission is “independent, operational and will continue to deliver vital services and work with the Palestinian people”.

Miliband added that the UK has temporarily withdrawn several staff and families from the city to “ensure their safety and security”.

Britain’s consulate in Jerusalem

Israel’s foreign minister has released a statement announcing the “closure of activities” at the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem.

Some of the major talking points from Saar’s statement:

• The UK consul general and 20 diplomats will end their duties and leave Israel.
• Israel has authorised the UK to operate a task force of seven diplomats in the building, which has “ceased to be used as a consulate today, with a very limited scope of activity”.
• Israel has agreed to “continue dialogue” between the governments in which both sides will be able to raise important issues
• Saar called the decision to implement sanctions on Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law, “hostile rhetoric that includes false accusations against Israel” like “ethnic cleansing”.

UK challenges Israel’s legal right to close consulate in occupied East Jerusalem

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has challenged the legality of Israel’s decision to close the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Miliband said earlier that the UK maintains to its commitment to ensuring a British presence in occupied Jerusalem, as it renames the building “UK Mission”.

“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”.

Earlier, Israel’s Foreign Minister Saar said in a statement that the consulate has closed and Israel will only allow seven staff members to continue to operate in the building.

UK ‘waiting for new Israeli government’ after October election

Vincent Fean, a former British Consul General to Jerusalem, has backed the UK foreign secretary’s decision to sanction illegal Israeli settlements, including a ban on goods produced there, which triggered the ongoing diplomatic dispute with Israel.

“Miliband [Britain’s Foreign Minister] did the right thing by condemning settlements and the expansion which could threaten the self-determination of the Palestinian people,” Fean said.

“I think the British government plans to wait and see what comes from those elections and to deal with whatever government the Israeli electorate chooses.”

The British government has maintained a presence in Jerusalem since 1838, more than a century before the creation of Israel.

UK’s Jerusalem mission to ‘remain independent’

Vincent Fean, the British consul general in Jerusalem from 2010 to 2014, said that the renaming of the UK’s consulate in occupied ⁠East Jerusalem after Israel ordered it to close as part of a diplomatic dispute.

“The Tel Aviv embassy deals with Israel, and the mission in East Jerusalem deals with the PLO, the government of Palestine in Ramallah and the Palestinian Authority. It relates directly to the Palestinian people, be it in Gaza, East Jerusalem or all the rest of the West Bank,” Fean siad.

“The Jerusalem mission reports directly to the foreign secretary. It is not subordinate to anybody. It is independent, and it will remain so.”

Fean noted that Miliband’s sanctions against Israeli settlements are needed, especially after Israel announced its E1 settlement expansion. “An Israeli minister says E1 is designed to bury the two-state solution. Now, we don’t want that, Palestinians don’t want that and the international community doesn’t want that.”