Israel Closes British Consulate in Jerusalem After Sanctions Dispute
The British Consulate in Jerusalem officially ceased operating on Thursday (8 October 2026), after Israel ordered the office to close. Seven British diplomats are nevertheless being allowed to remain in the building to carry out their duties in a limited capacity.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the closure followed talks with the British government aimed at preventing relations between the two countries from deteriorating further.
“As I announced, the British Consulate in Jerusalem is ending its role today,” Saar said in a statement, AFP reported.
He said 20 diplomats, including the consul-general, had ended their postings and left Israel.
According to Saar, the consulate building belongs to the British government. Israel has allowed a “team consisting of only seven diplomats” to continue working there, although the facility “has ceased to function as a consulate today”.
“The scope of their activities will be very limited,” Saar said.
He said Britain and Israel had also agreed to maintain channels of communication between their governments. This dialogue would allow both sides to raise issues they consider important.
The British government confirmed that it would continue providing “essential services” in Jerusalem. The consulate-general building will remain open under a new name: UK Mission, Jerusalem.
“UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational and will continue providing essential services and carrying out our work with the Palestinian people,” British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.
The closure follows Israel’s decision last September to penalise Britain after London led a number of Western countries in imposing sanctions over Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The British Consulate in Jerusalem had been established nearly 200 years ago. It is located in East Jerusalem, an area historically part of Palestine that Israel captured in 1967.
Israel later annexed East Jerusalem and regards the whole city as its undivided capital.
Although Israel controls East Jerusalem, most countries around the world, including Britain, do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city.
According to its official website, the British consulate had handled “political, commercial, security and economic interests between the UK and Palestine”. It also provided consular services to British citizens in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.