Israel shuts British Consulate, UK backs down from retaliation threat

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the consulate itself had ceased to exist, with the consul general and 19 other diplomats ending their assignments and leaving Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel officially closed the British Consulate in Jerusalem on Thursday and ordered 20 of its diplomats to leave the country, after a last-minute agreement with London headed off a threatened British retaliation.

The deal, reached Wednesday night following a week of negotiations, allows Britain to retain a small diplomatic presence at the same Jerusalem building, but under significantly reduced terms.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the consulate itself had ceased to exist, with the consul general and 19 other diplomats ending their assignments and leaving Israel.

Since the building belongs to the British government, Israel agreed to allow a seven-member diplomatic team to continue working there. Sa’ar stressed that the site would no longer operate as a consulate and that the remaining diplomats would be limited to a “very limited scope of activity.”

In exchange, Sa’ar said, Britain agreed not to take retaliatory measures against Israel over the implementation of the closure and related Israeli steps.

“Alongside this, we reached understandings that serve Israeli interests,” Sa’ar said. “In accordance with the understandings we reached, no measures will be taken against Israel as a result of implementing the decisions.”

The agreement defused, at least for now, the prospect of a further diplomatic escalation between the two countries. Britain had previously threatened reciprocal measures against Israeli diplomats if Jerusalem went ahead with the closure.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed Thursday that London would refrain from retaliation as long as the new dialogue between the governments remains “credible.”

London nevertheless offered a different interpretation of what will happen at the site, announcing that the former consulate building would operate under the new name “UK Mission, Jerusalem.”

“The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people,” Miliband said.

He maintained Britain’s position that Israel lacks the legal authority to close the consulate and referred to eastern Jerusalem as “occupied territory.”

Miliband also portrayed the reduction in personnel as temporary, saying some staff members and their families had been withdrawn for security reasons and that Britain intends “in the coming months to build back up our presence.”

Sa’ar, however, said the agreement permits just seven diplomats to remain with a sharply restricted mandate.

The consulate closure was the last of four retaliatory measures Sa’ar announced on Sept. 8 in response to a series of steps taken against Israel by Britain’s Labour government.

Israel has also removed British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, ended British involvement in training Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria, and barred 12 British elected officials and other British citizens accused of antisemitic or anti-Israel activity or denying Israel’s right to exist.

“All four measures in my statement from September 8 have been implemented,” Sa’ar said.

The foreign minister said Israel continues to value its relationship with Britain, particularly security and intelligence cooperation, and revealed that Jerusalem recently provided London with “vital information” in connection with the RAF Fairford case.

“We believe in dialogue and will continue to believe in dialogue,” Sa’ar said, while arguing that genuine dialogue with Britain’s Labour government had been lacking in recent years.

He pointed to a series of British moves since Labour took office in 2024, including recognition of a Palestinian state, renewed funding for UNRWA, restrictions on defense exports to Israel, sanctions against Israeli ministers and other Israelis, the suspension of free-trade negotiations and restrictions on military cooperation.

Sa’ar also cited Britain’s latest sanctions targeting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and what he described as hostile rhetoric against Israel, including accusations of “ethnic cleansing.”

Despite the agreement, Sa’ar warned that further confrontations with London remain possible.

“I cannot promise that there will not be additional crises in the future,” he said. “If there are, we will face them based on our principles.”

He said Israel remains interested in good relations with Britain and other countries, but warned that governments taking action against the Jewish state should expect a response.

“Every country that acts against Israel needs to know that there will be a price,” Sa’ar said. “It will not benefit from doing so, but the opposite.”

“The era of Israeli restraint is over, both on the security and diplomatic fronts.”

British ConsulateGideon SaarUK-Israel relations