Arabic version: اتفاق بشأن البعثة البريطانية يخفف أزمة القنصلية في القدس
According to Al Jazeera, the British Consulate General in occupied East Jerusalem has stopped operating under its former name after Israel ordered its closure following UK sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. UK officials said the site remains open as the “UK Mission, Jerusalem”.
Israel had given Britain 30 days to close the consulate and said diplomats working there would lose diplomatic status. The order followed Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s announcement that the UK would ban imports of goods from illegal settlements and bar companies from supplying them with services, including financing, construction and real estate.
A last-minute compromise allowed seven British diplomats to work from the building, while 20 diplomats, including the consul general, would leave Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said. Miliband said Britain does not accept that Israel has the legal right to close the UK-owned building, which has stood for nearly 200 years. The mission assists UK nationals in Palestine, supports Palestinians and represents the UK in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The dispute is the latest strain in a long relationship that has often been close. Tensions have included the 1946 King David Hotel bombing, when an Irgun attack killed 91 people; clashes involving British and Israeli aircraft in January 1949; Britain’s restriction of defence sales to Israel after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982; and Israeli arms sales to Argentina during the Falklands War.
Relations have deteriorated further since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023. The UK suspended 30 arms export licences to Israel in September 2024, suspended trade talks and sanctioned people and companies linked to settler violence in May 2025, and formally recognised the State of Palestine in September 2025. Saar said intelligence sharing continues, while Al Jazeera’s Camille Nedelec said the new arrangement lets both sides claim a measure of success.
