British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Thursday that the building housing the British Consulate General in Jerusalem will not be closed following discussions with the Israeli government.
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Miliband said the building will be known as the “British Mission in Jerusalem,” will operate independently and will remain open.
He added that Britain would work to strengthen its presence again over the coming months.
Miliband stressed that Britain would not take similar measures as long as discussions remained ongoing and credible.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday that the British Consulate in Jerusalem was ending its operations that day, adding that the consul general and 20 diplomats would end their duties and leave Israel.
Saar said Israel had allowed the British government to continue operating from the consulate building, but within a limited scope and with only seven diplomats.
Al Mamlaka’s correspondent in Jerusalem reported that the deadline given by Israel to Britain regarding the consulate was due to expire Thursday, noting that the Israeli foreign minister had announced a two-hour extension.
She said the Israeli measures also included a decision concerning the British hospital linked to the mission, a ban preventing 12 British nationals from entering Israel, and other measures related to British presence and activities.
A limited number of British staff will remain in the consulate building with restricted powers and activities until the procedures and understandings between the two sides are completed.
The understandings include Britain refraining from taking measures against Israel in response to the steps it has taken. Practical measures implemented Thursday morning included the removal of some British signs from the consulate building.
Workers removed signs and plaques from the British Consulate in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday night after Israel ordered it to close by Thursday.
Israel ordered Britain last month to close the consulate within 30 days and withdraw its diplomats after Britain announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a trade ban on goods produced there.
Source: Reuters
