Arabic version: بريطانيا تعيد تسمية قنصليتها في القدس «بعثة المملكة المتحدة»

According to ABC News, Britain says its nearly 200-year-old consulate in Jerusalem will continue operating on a smaller scale after Israel ordered it shut, with the building now called the UK Mission, Jerusalem. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the mission would continue delivering “vital services” and working with Palestinian people.

Israel issued Britain a 30-day deadline last month to close the consulate after London announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The deadline expired on Thursday, local time. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the East Jerusalem consulate would formally end operations, while some British diplomats could continue working in the building under an agreement between the two countries.

Mr Miliband said Britain did not accept that Israel had the legal right to close the consulate. He said that after discussions with Israel, the consulate general building would not close and would operate under its new name from Thursday. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later annexed it, a move most countries do not recognise.

Plaques reading British Consulate General and a sign for the consular section were removed from the building. The British flag was still flying there earlier in the day. The closure order does not affect Britain’s embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel’s government.

The consulate, founded in 1839, is in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. It handles Britain’s relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and provides consular services to Palestinians. The UN and most countries consider Israeli settlements illegal under international law, while Israel disputes that position.