Israel's 30-day closure order, issued September 8, expired on October 8 — and at the last moment, Britain and Israel announced a compromise: the nearly 200-year-old British Consulate General in East Jerusalem will not close. Instead it will continue on a much smaller scale under a new name, "UK Mission, Jerusalem." The deal was announced by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. Reuters journalists saw the "British Consulate General" plaque removed overnight — though the British flag was still flying.
The "scaling down" is substantial: 20 British diplomats, including the Consul General, are leaving Israel. Israeli media reported the mission had 27 diplomatic staff in total — only 7 stay behind. Israel says the building has lost its status as a consulate and what remains is a task force of seven with "a very limited scope of activity." Britain insists it is only a name change: the mission has not lost diplomatic status, it is "independent, operational," and will keep serving Palestinians. London calls the drawdown "temporary" and says it will "build back up our presence" in the coming months.
Sa'ar wrote on X: "The British Consulate in Jerusalem ended its role today. The Consul General and 19 diplomats are ending their assignments and will leave Israel." He blamed London: "We did not want to reach this point, but the actions of the UK Labour government led us here," accusing Britain of "hostile rhetoric" including "false accusations" such as "ethnic cleansing." Israel's position is that the building in East Jerusalem no longer holds consular status.
UK Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty played it down on BBC Radio 4, calling the change "a nameplate changing" and denying it was a "political fudge," while stressing "of course Israel is still a friend." Miliband said in a statement: "The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people." Britain also said it had temporarily withdrawn some staff and families for safety. Both sides confirmed Britain will take no reciprocal measures while talks continue.
The row began on September 8, when Miliband announced sanctions — a ban on imports of goods from West Bank Israeli settlements, plus sanctions on individuals and firms servicing settlers. Sa'ar retaliated the same day with a four-part package: close the consulate within 30 days, remove British representatives from the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center for Gaza in Kiryat Gat, end British training of Palestinian Authority forces in Ramallah, and bar 12 British elected officials and other citizens from Israel. On October 5, Israeli media reported Britain had warned it would expel 27 Israeli diplomats from London if the closure went ahead; the prime minister's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, had secretly visited Israel the week before — without a deal.
The consulate, in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, dates to 1839 — 109 years before Israel's founding. Britain maintains that East Jerusalem is occupied territory under international law and does not accept Israel's right to close the mission. Turkey, France, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Sweden also maintain consular arrangements in Jerusalem; France and Canada joined Britain's sanctions but faced no Israeli retaliation. The United States merged its Jerusalem consulate into its embassy after moving the embassy there in 2018, during Donald Trump's first term — Trump has criticized Britain's stance. There has been no official Palestinian reaction so far.