Israel downgrades UK Jerusalem consulate after sanctions on Judea, Samaria

The British Consulate in Jerusalem, which Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar last month said would be shuttered, will be renamed the UK Mission, Jerusalem, and operate from the same building with a smaller staff, according to statements published on Thursday by Jerusalem and London.

Twenty diplomats, including the consul general, will end their assignments and leave Israel, Sa’ar said. The consulate’s sign has been removed. Britain retains ownership of the building and may operate a small task force there, Sa’ar said.

“We have allowed the British Government to operate a task force of only seven diplomats from the building, which ceased to function as a consulate today. Their scope of activity will be very limited,” he wrote.

Sa’ar announced the closure on Sept. 8, immediately after the U.K. introduced an import ban on products from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

“A boycott of goods from Judea and Samaria is a despicable practice that harms hard-working, law-abiding citizens,” Sa’ar said last month. “The Labour Government has decided to employ this practice of boycotts and BDS only against the Jewish state.”

Sa’ar added that the Israeli public overwhelmingly supports the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and just as overwhelmingly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state in its heartland. “This is something that the Labour government is attempting, through measures that are doomed to fail, to force upon Israel. It will not work,” he said.

The U.K. and Israel had conducted weeks of talks to prevent a deterioration in bilateral relations, Sa’ar said on Thursday. Understandings were reached on Wednesday night and the two governments agreed to continue dialogue. Under the current understandings, “no measures will be taken against Israel as a result of the implementation of the decisions,” he wrote.

Ed Miliband, Sa’ar’s British counterpart, wrote in a statement on Thursday: “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. The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people.”

The arrangement would preserve Britain’s longstanding presence and its role in supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Miliband said.

“Without an understanding, we would not have the necessary assurances for the security and protections of our staff and premises. Accordingly, the UK has temporarily withdrawn a number of staff and families to ensure their safety and security,” he wrote.

Miliband said the U.K. “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.”

Britain remains “committed” to the measures it adopted on Sept. 8, Miliband said, describing them as coordinated with the international community and intended to support a two-state solution delivering peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.

Sa’ar said Israel had implemented all of the retaliatory measures he announced on Sept. 8, which included banning British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center (previously known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center) in Kiryat Gat. Other Israeli sanctions included terminating British training for Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria, and barring 12 British officials and other citizens from entering Israel over what Sa’ar called their involvement in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.

“We established a clear principle: It is not possible to act against Israel without Israel taking appropriate measures in response,” he wrote.

Miliband, in his statement, wrote,” We have been clear that we do not accept that the Government of Israel has the legal right to close the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, which has been there for nearly 200 years. The UK government reiterates its long-standing view that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.”

Sa’ar assigned responsibility for the crisis to Britain’s Labour government.

“We did not want to reach this point, but the actions of the UK Labour Government brought us here. Their latest decision in this series was to initiate a range of far-reaching sanctions against the communities in Judea and Samaria, as well as additional sanctions on defence exports to Israel,” he wrote.

“All this was accompanied by hostile rhetoric, including false accusations against Israel, such as accusations of ‘ethnic cleansing.’”

Sa’ar described the measures as part of an escalating series of unilateral actions against Israel since Labour took office in July 2024.

These included Britain’s unilateral recognition of what he called a “virtual Palestinian state” in September 2025; renewed funding for UNRWA; the suspension of defense export licenses; sanctions on Israeli ministers and other individuals and entities, and the suspension of talks on a free trade agreement.

He also listed restrictions on Israel’s participation in an international defense exhibition in Britain, the exclusion of IDF officers from training at the Royal College of Defence Studies, and repeated “biased attacks” against Israel internationally.

Israel continues to believe in dialogue, Sa’ar said, although no genuine dialogue had taken place with the Labour government in recent years. “This is despite good relations with Britain, reflected, among other things, in security and intelligence cooperation,” he said.

Bilateral relations and security and intelligence cooperation have repeatedly helped protect British lives and interests, Sa’ar also said. Israel had recently provided Britain with “vital information” concerning the RAF Fairford incident, he added. British security forces last month arrested several people who are suspected of planning a terrorist attack at the base.

Sa’ar thanked those on both sides who contributed to the understandings, which he said served Israel’s interests.

“I cannot promise that there will not be further crises in the future. If there are, we will face them on the basis of our core principles,” he wrote, adding, “Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it.”