‘This is not the act of a friend’: Israel’s deadline to close British consulate approaches | Israeli-Palestinian conflict News

London, United Kingdom – Israel’s deadline for the UK to close its consulate in East Jerusalem is fast approaching.

Thursday marks the 30th day since Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered a retaliatory measure against the UK’s wave of sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements.

“This is not the act of a friend or ally,” Sir Vincent Fean, former British consul general in Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera. “The British Consulate General has every right to be in Jerusalem, in East Jerusalem, which is part of the State of Palestine. »

From 2010 to 2014, Fean served as de facto ambassador to the occupied Palestinian territories. He is now a trustee of the Britain Palestine Project, which advocates for equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.

“Under international law, for (the United Kingdom) and for the vast majority of the world, Israel has no right to interfere in diplomatic relations between the State of Palestine and the State of the United Kingdom. It is doing so by closing our office, and that is illegal,” he said, adding that he was “particularly concerned” for the consulate’s 50 or so Palestinian employees.

Relations between the UK and Israel have reached an all-time low. On Monday, reports claimed that the UK could expel 27 Israeli diplomats if the consulate closure continues.

British national security adviser Jonathan Powell reportedly held talks with Israeli officials during a visit that was not disclosed by the British government, but no agreement to keep the consulate open was reached.

Israel’s response was furious following the UK’s ban on imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as well as a general change in tone. Foreign Minister Ed Miliband, for example, deplored Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Miliband expected Israel to retaliate, but said the UK had “weighed the costs and benefits of action”.

In addition to the order to close the consulate, Israel expelled the United Kingdom from the Washington-led coordination center for post-war Gaza and banned 11 lawmakers from entering Israel, including former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

“It is illegal and illicit for Israel to act in this way,” Fean told Al Jazeera. “British foreign policy has been reset since the arrival of (Prime Minister Andy) Burnham and Miliband.”

Israel’s hostile actions towards the UK “will neither be forgiven nor soon forgotten”, he added.

In a submission from the Britain Palestine Project that was endorsed by former UK Attorney General Dominic Grieve KC and shared with Al Jazeera, the threat of closure is described as “an illegal assertion of sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory”.

“The Israeli announcement usurps the rights of the State of Palestine,” it reads.

Resolution 478 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council – of which the UK is a permanent member – in 1980, ruling that Israel’s attempts to change the status of Jerusalem are “null and void”.

In 2016, Resolution 2334 reiterated this, “condemning all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.”

The United Kingdom officially recognized the State of Palestine in September 2025.

If the UK resists Israel’s orders, Israel could likely impose various logistical challenges on the consulate and the diplomats working there.

“The practical point is that the consulate general depends on Israeli electricity (and) water, so there are ways in which Israel could force the eviction, the closure of the consulate general,” Fean told Al Jazeera. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but this Israeli government has broken a lot of laws,” he said when asked if Israel could use power or water cuts as a way to expel British diplomats.

While reiterating that the British consulate in East Jerusalem should remain open despite the orders, Fean said that “if this proves impossible by the force of the Israeli government, then there are alternatives.”

Foreign embassies in Ramallah could provide an alternative route to handling consular affairs, he said.

The consulate serves as a channel of communication between the United Kingdom and the Palestinian government and manages consular affairs for British nationals in the region, including pilgrims to the West Bank.

“Once again, Israel is going after the Palestinians for something that someone else did,” Fean said. “Israel’s impunity must be questioned. The fact that this Israeli government appears to consider itself above the law must be questioned.”

Human rights activists have urged the UK to resist Israeli orders.

“Such retaliatory action by Israel suggests that any further action by the UK could trigger further responses,” said Zena Agha, deputy director of the British Palestinian Committee. “But this should not deter the UK from upholding its obligations under international law – or from taking action to hold those responsible for the Israeli genocide and occupation accountable. »

Shamiul Joarder, director of Friends of al-Aqsa, reiterated the illegality of Israel’s actions and told Al Jazeera: “If Britain accepts this order, it risks allowing Israel to dictate the terms of the British diplomatic presence in occupied East Jerusalem. This would set a deeply worrying precedent.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request to comment on Israel’s orders to close the British consulate, nor on the UK’s planned response.