Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced Tuesday that Israel will close Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem, in retaliation for new British sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Reuters reporting.
The consulate, accredited to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, will be shut after London announced it was imposing sanctions on settlement goods, Sa'ar said. The announcement followed UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's confirmation Tuesday of the sanctions and a boycott of Israeli goods from the occupied territories, which Sa'ar called "despicable," according to Middle East Eye.
According to Clash Report, Sa'ar said Israel is "shutting down the British consulate in Jerusalem" and will expel British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat. He added that Britain would no longer be allowed to take part in the U.S.-led coordination mission for Gaza, that British training of Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank would be terminated, and that some elected UK officials and other British nationals would be barred from entering Israel.
Sa'ar characterized the British measures as election interference. According to Clash Report, he described the sanctions as interference in Israel's coming election. The Jerusalem Post reported that Sa'ar warned the decision "will strengthen the extremist voices in Israel just before the Knesset elections and is a shot of encouragement to Hamas and the terrorist organizations."
Separately, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for the consulate closure independently of Sa'ar's announcement. The Jerusalem Post reported that Ben Gvir said he had asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close the British consulate, which he said "operates openly on behalf of the Palestinian Authority."
Not all Israeli political actors condemned the British move. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Peace Now movement welcomed the British announcement, saying settlements pose a danger to Israel's future and that it is positive for Britain and other countries to distinguish between sovereign Israel and settlements beyond the Green Line.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has not indicated a timeline for the consulate's closure. The dispute follows Britain's announcement of a broader sanctions package targeting Israeli settlement goods, part of what UK officials describe as an effort to support a two-state solution.