Foreign Affairs Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry has urged the Government not to comply with Israel’s order to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, describing the move as illegal retaliation for Britain standing up for international law.
Israel’s foreign ministry has said the consulate will close on Thursday, after the UK banned trade in goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and imposed sanctions on firms that help build further settlements.
The consulate, based in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, is separate from the British embassy in Tel Aviv and covers East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank and Gaza.
Thornberry: ‘Britain should not allow Israel to do this’
“The closure of the consulate was a blatant retaliation against Britain for standing up for international law. The closure order is in itself illegal,” Thornberry said.
“I hope that Israel will not go through with the closure of a consulate which has served Britons and Palestinians since 1838. Britain should not allow Israel to do this.”
A diplomatic stand-off
The UK has reportedly warned that it could expel one Israeli diplomat for every British diplomat forced to leave. The Foreign Office has said it will not comment on speculation.
National security adviser Jonathan Powell travelled to Jerusalem last week to try to persuade the Israeli government to rescind or delay the closure, but the talks did not succeed.
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve has advised that Israel would be acting unlawfully, because East Jerusalem is regarded by the UK and the United Nations as occupied Palestinian territory.
Diplomats from other Western countries fear that a closure would set a damaging precedent for foreign missions in Jerusalem, whose status Britain has long said must be settled through negotiations.
For Labour, the task is to defend Britain’s diplomatic presence and international law while continuing to press for security for Israelis, Palestinian self-determination and a viable two-state solution.
