Four sources told Reuters Britain is likely to expel Israeli diplomats if Israel shuts the British consulate in East Jerusalem this week. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson said the consulate would close on Thursday.
Britain is likely to expel Israeli diplomats if Israel closes the British consulate in East Jerusalem this week, four sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Israel ordered the closure on September 8, giving Britain 30 days, after London said it would ban trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Reuters said the deadline ends on Thursday and would affect about 30 British diplomats and their families.
If the consulate closes, Britain is likely to expel a similar number of Israeli diplomats from the embassy in London, the sources said. A fifth source told Reuters Britain was still hopeful an agreement could be reached. Two other sources said Britain had asked European countries to raise the issue with Israel.
A spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Reuters on Monday that the consulate would close on Thursday. Al Jazeera quoted former British consul general Sir Vincent Fean calling the order unlawful and not the act of a friend.
No expulsion order had been issued by Tuesday evening. The consulate remained open pending Thursday's deadline.
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- A spokesperson for Gideon Saar said the consulate would close on Thursday.
- Sir Vincent Fean told Al Jazeera the closure was not the act of a friend or ally and was unlawful.