Britain would expel 27 Israeli diplomats if Jerusalem consulate closes, reports say
In short
Israeli and British media reports say Britain would expel 27 Israeli diplomats and their families if Israel closes the British consulate in Jerusalem. Israel's foreign minister said Israel would take countermeasures against British restrictions on West Bank settlement goods, including closing the consulate. Israeli media reported Britain's most senior national security official visited Israel secretly last week to try to stop the closure, but no agreement was reached.
Read the full story 2 min read
Reports from Israeli and British media say Britain would expel 27 Israeli diplomats and their families if Israel closes the British consulate in Jerusalem. Jiemian, citing an Israeli informed source, reported the retaliation plan, while CLS said British media reported the same figure. Israel's foreign minister, Saar, said Israel would implement a series of countermeasures in response to Britain's ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including closing the British consulate in Jerusalem, according to Jiemian. [ 1 , 2 ]
CLS reported, citing Israeli media, that Britain's most senior national security official made a secret visit to Israel last week to try to prevent the closure of the consulate, and that the two sides have still not reached an agreement. The same report said Israel demanded that Britain close its Jerusalem consulate and withdraw its diplomats there within 30 days. [ 2 ]
The two documents trace the dispute to Sept 8 but describe that day differently. Jiemian said the foreign ministers of 12 countries including Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and settler violence as undermining the “two-state solution,” and that the 12 countries said they planned to restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. CLS said Britain announced sanctions on Jewish settlements on that date. The documents do not state how the joint statement and the British sanctions relate to each other. [ 1 , 2 ]
Israel's countermeasures were framed by Foreign Minister Saar as a response to Britain's planned ban on imports from West Bank settlements, Jiemian reported. Jiemian attributed its account to Israeli informed sources and to CCTV News; CLS attributed its account to Israeli media and British media reports. Neither document names the officials or media cited as sources. [ 1 , 2 ]
Yicai's coverage of the episode consisted of a headline stating that Britain may expel Israeli diplomats because of the possible closure of the Jerusalem consulate. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The dispute sets a British consulate in Jerusalem and the status of dozens of diplomats against British and allied measures over West Bank settlements, an escalation between two governments that normally coordinate closely. If the closure and expulsions proceed, each side would lose part of its diplomatic presence in the other's territory, with the reported failure of the security official's mediation leaving no announced way out.
Key facts
- Reports say Britain would expel 27 Israeli diplomats and their families if Israel closes the British consulate in Jerusalem. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Israel's foreign minister, Saar, said Israel would implement a series of countermeasures against Britain's ban on imports from West Bank settlements, including closing the British consulate in Jerusalem. [ 1 ]
- Israeli media reported that Israel demanded Britain close its Jerusalem consulate within 30 days and withdraw its diplomats there. [ 2 ]
- Britain's most senior national security official secretly visited Israel last week to try to prevent the closure, and the two sides have not reached an agreement, according to Israeli media cited by CLS. [ 2 ]
- On Sept 8, the foreign ministers of 12 countries including Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and settler violence, and said they planned to restrict trade with West Bank settlements. [ 1 ]
- CLS, citing the same date, reported that Britain announced sanctions on Israeli settlements on Sept 8. [ 2 ]
- Yicai carried only a headline about the possible expulsion of Israeli diplomats. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Reports say Britain would expel 27 Israeli diplomats and their families if Israel closes the British consulate in Jerusalem. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The dispute follows measures taken on Sept 8 by Britain and other countries over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, though the documents describe those measures differently. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Israel will close the consulate and whether Britain will carry out the reported expulsions. Both documents rely on unidentified informed sources, and CLS says the two sides have not reached an agreement.
- Whether the 12-country joint statement described by Jiemian and the British sanctions described by CLS are the same Sept 8 action. The two documents describe the Sept 8 measures differently, and neither explains the relationship between them.
- Details of the secret visit by Britain's most senior national security official, including its exact timing. The visit is reported only by CLS, citing Israeli media, and is dated only as “last week”.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The foreign ministers of 12 countries including Britain, France and Canada issue a joint statement condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and settler violence, and say they plan to restrict trade with West Bank settlements; CLS reports that Britain announced sanctions on settlements on the same date. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Israeli media, citing informed sources, report that Britain would expel 27 Israeli diplomats and their families if Israel closes the British consulate in Jerusalem, and that Britain's most senior national security official visited Israel secretly last week without reaching an agreement. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Jiemian publishes its report, citing CCTV News, on the possible expulsion and Israel's planned countermeasures. [ 1 ]
- CLS reports the secret British security visit and the Israeli demand that Britain close the consulate within 30 days. [ 2 ]
- Yicai carries a headline on the possible expulsion of Israeli diplomats. [ 3 ]