UK renames East Jerusalem consulate as mission, insists will remain open

Britain announced on Thursday that its consulate in occupied East Jerusalem would remain open under a new name, the "UK Mission, Jerusalem," despite Israel's order to shut it down over trade ban on illegal settlements.

In a statement shared on US social media platform X, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said London does not recognize Israel's legal authority to close the nearly 200-year-old consulate.

"Following discussions with the Government of Israel, our Consulate General building will not be closing, and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from today," he said.

Miliband said the mission would remain operational and continue providing services and working with Palestinians, reaffirming Britain's position that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.

"The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people," he said.

He added that Britain had temporarily withdrawn some staff and their families for security reasons and would not take retaliatory measures while talks continued.

"We will work in the coming months to build back up our presence, and we will not take reciprocal action while such discussions are underway and credible," the foreign secretary said.

Miliband reaffirmed Britain's commitment to measures introduced on Sept. 8, saying they were taken in support of a two-state solution aimed at securing peace for Israelis and Palestinians.

He was referring to British sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a ban on settlement product imports, which prompted Israel to order the consulate's closure within 30 days, a deadline that expired Thursday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, however, said the consulate had ceased operations and that 20 British diplomats, including the consul general, would leave Israel.

Saar said Israel had authorized only seven diplomats to remain at the building, with significantly restricted activities.

He added that the building that housed the consulate belongs to the British government, and that Israel had authorized London to maintain a team of only seven diplomats there, with a "significantly limited scope of activities."

Both sides said they had agreed to continue discussions.

According to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground, workers removed signage from the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem on Thursday. The closure order does not affect the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.