Israel announced on Tuesday, September 8, that it would close Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem in response to UK sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also announced restrictions on British involvement in Palestinian security training and Gaza coordination.
Saar said the response had been coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said: ‘The British move is morally distorted, and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and its electoral process.’ Reuters reported the announcement.
Consulate handles relations with Palestinians
The British Consulate General represents the UK government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Its responsibilities include political, commercial, security and economic relations with Palestinians, according to its official government website.
The mission also provides consular assistance to British nationals in those areas. Israel’s announcement concerned this Jerusalem mission, rather than Britain’s embassy to Israel.
UK targets settlement trade and services
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced plans to prohibit imports from Israeli settlements and prevent companies from supplying settlement-related services. The restrictions cover financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising, The Associated Press reported.
Miliband said: ‘We will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution.’
The government also changed its stated position to regard Israel’s occupation of the West Bank as unlawful, alongside its existing opposition to settlements. The trade restrictions are expected to take effect within six to nine months.
Entry bans accompany diplomatic measures
Israel’s response included barring British participation in the US-led Gaza coordination mission and ending British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among the British figures named for entry restrictions.
The Guardian reported that Zara Sultana and Diane Abbott were also among the lawmakers affected. Saar rejected Miliband’s allegations about Israeli conduct in the West Bank.
Miliband’s package included individual sanctions linked to settler violence and restrictions on arms exports contributing to the occupation.
France and Canada announce parallel action
France and Canada also announced plans to block settlement imports. Their governments joined Britain in presenting the measures as support for a negotiated Palestinian state alongside Israel, according to Reuters.
Settlement exports include dates, citrus fruit, herbs and wine, and account for a small share of Israel’s overall exports. The United Nations and most countries consider the settlements illegal under international law; Israel disputes that position.
The dispute centres partly on the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem. The planned development includes about 3,400 homes and has drawn concern over its effect on the territorial viability of a future Palestinian state, Folha de S.Paulo reported.
As of the reports reviewed on Tuesday, Israel had announced the consulate’s closure, but no implementation date or confirmed arrangements for its staff had been reported.