Reuters journalists saw workers remove the British Consulate General plaque in Sheikh Jarrah overnight. Israel had ordered the mission closed within 30 days after London announced West Bank settlement sanctions.
Workers removed signs and plaques at the British consulate in East Jerusalem overnight after an Israeli order to shut the mission by Thursday, Reuters reported from Jerusalem. Journalists saw staff take down a plaque reading British Consulate General and a sign for the consular section. The British flag was still flying. There was no immediate comment from the consulate.
Israel ordered Britain last month to close the consulate within 30 days and remove its diplomats, after London announced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a trade ban on goods made there. The United Nations and most countries consider the settlements illegal. Israel disputes that.
The consulate, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, handles Britain's relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and provides consular services. The closure order does not affect the British embassy in Tel Aviv. Sources told Reuters the order affects about 30 British diplomats and their families.
Britain's Foreign Office on Wednesday declined to comment when asked whether the consulate was still operating or whether diplomats had returned to the UK. The overnight removal of the signs is the visible step as the deadline passed.
Reuters did not report a formal British announcement that the mission had closed, or a list of staff who had left.
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- Britain's Foreign Office declined to comment on whether the consulate was still operating.
- There was no immediate comment from the consulate.