Israel has given Britain 30 days to close its consulate in East Jerusalem as new details emerge of the retaliatory measures imposed following the UK Government's crackdown on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
British diplomats working at the consulate are also expected to lose their diplomatic status after the same 30-day period, according to Israeli officials and sources familiar with the decision cited by Reuters.
Other British officials face a much shorter deadline. UK personnel assigned to a US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel and British diplomats based in Ramallah have been given seven days to leave.
Israel has also barred a group of British politicians and other nationals from entering the country, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and has ended Britain's role in training Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.
30-day deadline for British Consulate
The latest details significantly expand on Israel's initial announcement that the British Consulate in East Jerusalem would be closed.
The consulate represents the British Government on Palestinian issues in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza and has a diplomatic presence in Jerusalem dating back to the nineteenth century.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Israel had told the UK the consulate must close within 30 days, citing two Israeli officials and two sources familiar with the matter.
The same sources said British diplomats working there would lose their diplomatic status after 30 days.
British officials given seven days to leave
Separate measures affect UK officials working elsewhere in the region.
British representatives assigned to a US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, along with British diplomats based in Ramallah, have been given seven days to leave, according to Reuters.
Israel has also announced that Britain will no longer be permitted to train Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.
Corbyn among British nationals banned
Israel has also announced entry bans targeting British politicians and other nationals.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is among those barred from entering Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced the entry restrictions as part of the wider package of retaliation against Britain.
Miliband says retaliation was anticipated
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Wednesday that he regretted Israel's decision to order the consulate closed but that the response had not come as a surprise.
He said the Government had weighed the costs and benefits before acting and concluded that Britain could not stand by in the face of developments in the West Bank.
Miliband also rejected suggestions that the sanctions would undermine intelligence cooperation with Israel, saying the UK continued to have important intelligence and security relationships with the country.
Israel retaliates over UK settlement measures
The dispute erupted after the British Government announced a series of measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Miliband told the House of Commons on Tuesday that Britain would introduce an import ban on goods from settlements and create a comprehensive sanctions regime targeting individuals and companies providing services including construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate for settlement expansion.
The Government also intends to ban the advertising in Britain of settlement property and has announced further measures against extremist settlers.
The UK says the measures target settlements and settlement expansion rather than Israel itself and that Britain will continue to support trade with Israel within the Green Line.
Further Israeli retaliation could follow
The diplomatic confrontation may not yet be over.
Reuters reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter, that the Israeli Government was expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss its response to other countries that imposed sanctions or supported the British initiative.
No additional measures from that meeting had been confirmed at the time of publication.
The 30-day deadline for the consulate, the seven-day deadline for other British officials and the entry bans represent a significant escalation in the deterioration of relations between London and Jerusalem.
Sources
- Reuters: Israel tells Britain to close East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days, 9 September 2026
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Foreign Secretary Oral Statement on Israel-Palestine, 8 September 2026
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Joint Foreign Ministers' Statement on the Two-State Solution, 8 September 2026