Israel Orders UK to Close East Jerusalem Consulate in 30 Days

Israel ordered the United Kingdom to close its consulate in East Jerusalem within 30 days, according to two Israeli officials and two sources familiar with the matter.

This directive is part of Israel's retaliatory measures against Britain for imposing new sanctions targeting Israeli settlements. Former senior US official Elliott Abrams stated on Wednesday that Israel's measures against Britain were designed to make London wince and have likely succeeded in diminishing British influence. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced the closure on Tuesday afternoon.

Other retaliatory steps include removing British personnel from US-led coordination efforts in Gaza, ending British training of Palestinian security forces, and barring several British figures from entering Israel. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described Israel's decision as regrettable and damaging. He anticipated this might happen, noting other countries had experienced similar responses. British MPs reacted defiantly to Israel banning them from entering the country.

Abrams, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, criticized Miliband's accusation that Israel was carrying out ethnic cleansing in Judea and Samaria. Abrams said Miliband's speech would offend many British and Israeli Jews because he relies on the fact that he's Jewish while showing no particular involvement or affinity with the Jewish community. Abrams served as a former US deputy national security adviser in the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump administrations.