British consulate in Jerusalem turns into small UK...

Summary

• According to Sa’ar, Britain will also take no action against Israel over the closure order.
• London rejects the British consulate closureBritish Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said London does not accept that Israel has a legal right to shut the mission.
• Why Israel ordered the closureIsrael ordered the mission shut within 30 days after Britain, France and Canada announced bans on goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

AI Generated Summary

The British consulate in East Jerusalem stopped working as a consulate on Thursday and will continue as a far smaller UK mission with seven diplomats.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the change. Under a new understanding between the two governments, he said, 20 British diplomats will depart. However, he allowed Britain to keep the building open for “a task force of only 7 diplomats” with a very limited scope of work. According to Sa’ar, Britain will also take no action against Israel over the closure order.

Overnight, consulate workers took down a plaque reading “British Consulate General” along with a sign for its consular section. Still, the British flag kept flying over the building, which stands in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

London rejects the British consulate closure

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said London does not accept that Israel has a legal right to shut the mission. He repeated the long-held British view that East Jerusalem remains under occupation. From now on, the building will carry the name UK Mission, Jerusalem.