Israel orders closure of British consulate in East Jerusalem — The Guardian
Israel ordered the British consulate in East Jerusalem to cease operations on Thursday in response to London’s ban on trade with illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and sanctions against those who build or finance them. The Guardian reports.
The British mission in East Jerusalem operates separately from the UK embassy in Tel Aviv, which will remain open. The consulate provides services to Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Consequences for Palestinians
Amjad Iraqi, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst on Israel and Palestine, told the publication that Palestinians would bear the main burden of the closure. According to him, after the closure they will lose access to consular services.
Iraqi believes that the Israeli authorities’ response primarily limits the United Kingdom’s ability to support Palestinians rather than affecting the main aspects of bilateral relations between London and Tel Aviv. Israel has already restricted the diplomatic activities of the Netherlands, Spain and Norway in the occupied West Bank.
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The forced closure of the consulate has become the lowest point in relations between the United Kingdom and Israel in several decades, The Guardian notes. According to the publication, London is considering expelling 27 Israeli diplomats in response.
History of the consulate
The British government purchased the site for the consulate in 1963, when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control. Construction of the complex lasted four years, but shortly before the new consul general, John Henry Lewen, was due to move in, the Six-Day War began in 1967, during which Israel captured East Jerusalem.
At that time, the United Kingdom did not recognize Jerusalem as territory under the control of any single state, and its consul general reported directly to the Foreign Office. In 2017, Palestinian protests marking the centenary of the Balfour Declaration took place near the consulate.
