Israel said 20 British diplomats, including the consul general, would leave and seven could stay. London said the building would remain open as the UK Mission, Jerusalem.
Britain and Israel said on Thursday that the British diplomatic mission in Jerusalem would stay open on a smaller scale and under a new name, Reuters reported. The consulate, founded in 1839, is to be called the UK Mission. Israel said 20 diplomats, including the consul general, would leave, with seven remaining in a limited role.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the consulate was ending operations and that its sign had been removed. The order followed a 30-day deadline Israel set last month after London announced sanctions on West Bank settlements, including a ban on trade in goods from there. Saar wrote that Israel did not want it to come to this.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that, after talks with Israel, the building would not close and would be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from Thursday. He said it would keep delivering services and work with the Palestinian people, and restated Britain’s view that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.
The BBC reported the same split: Israel describing a closure of consulate operations, Britain describing a renamed mission that remains open. The mission is separate from the British embassy in Tel Aviv.
Reuters called the arrangement a last-minute compromise that appeared to limit a wider diplomatic break. Neither report gave a date for the 20 diplomats’ departure.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Gideon Saar said Israel did not want it to come to this and that the consulate sign had been removed.
- David Miliband said the building would not close and would continue work with the Palestinian people.