Britain has warned Israel it will expel 27 Israeli diplomats along with their families if Israel goes ahead with closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem, in one of the deepest UK–Israel diplomatic crises in decades. The closure order takes effect October 8, and a last-ditch secret visit by Britain's national security adviser failed to avert it.
How the standoff escalated
The trigger came on September 8, when Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement announcing national measures banning trade in settlement goods, saying settlement expansion and rising settler violence were undermining the possibility of a two-state solution. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar responded with a 30-day order shutting the 187-year-old British Consulate in East Jerusalem by October 8. France and Canada joined the same sanctions — but Israel took action only against Britain. The consulate, in Sheikh Jarrah, operates separately from the Tel Aviv embassy and handles Britain's relations with Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza; it employs 27 British diplomats and has already dismissed dozens of local employees as British staff prepare to leave.
What each side is saying
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called Britain's sanctions decision "morally distorted" and accused Britain's ruling Labour party of being "hostile towards the country" and interfering in Israel's upcoming general election on October 27, according to Reuters. His spokesperson told Reuters the consulate "would close on Thursday, as announced" — no reversal. On the British side, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israeli settlers of "ethnic cleansing" when announcing the settlement-goods import ban, a charge Jerusalem rejects outright. Britain's ambassador to Israel, Simon Walters, conveyed London's retaliation terms as "one diplomat for one diplomat" — a move that could empty Israel's London embassy of most of its staff, according to Ynet reporting. UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell made a quiet, undisclosed visit to Israel last week to try to save the consulate; no agreement was reached.
Washington stays on the sidelines
Israel asked the Trump administration to intervene two weeks after the sanctions were announced, but no U.S. intervention came. A draft statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning the sanctions as BDS tactics was prepared but never released, according to reporting by The Times of Israel. With the October 8 deadline approaching, both sides have hardened their language and neither has offered a face-saving exit.
Takeaway: With a 27-diplomat expulsion threat answered by a consulate closure, London and Jerusalem are on a collision course — and the October 8 deadline leaves almost no room for diplomacy.
Watch: TRT World: Israel orders closure of British consulate in Jerusalem in response to UK sanctions.
Reel music: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Reuters, JFeed (citing Ynet), SourceFirstNews (citing The Jerusalem Post)