Britain has failed in its attempt to prevent the closure of its consulate in East Jerusalem, while Israel has responded to the possibility of the mass expulsion of Israeli diplomats from London in retaliation for the closure.
Following ynet’s revelation that Britain is considering expelling 27 Israeli diplomats from the embassy in London, Israeli diplomatic officials said: “There is no reason for us to address speculation about decisions other countries may or may not make in the future. We have already demonstrated that every move against Israel will be answered accordingly, and that will continue to be the case.”
The British message regarding the possible expulsion of the diplomats if Israel does not reverse its plan to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem was conveyed to Israeli officials amid deteriorating relations between the two countries. Tensions reached a peak with Britain’s decision to impose economic sanctions on settlements in the West Bank, prompting Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to announce retaliatory measures, including the closure of the consulate, which serves the Palestinian population and where 27 British diplomats work.
The Guardian reported that Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, visited Jerusalem last week in an attempt to persuade the government to cancel or postpone the consulate’s closure, but the talks failed. Powell opposed British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s decision to move forward with a ban on trade with settlements, fearing that it could play into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hands in the upcoming election.
The decision to close the British Consulate and revoke the diplomatic credentials of its staff is due to take effect Thursday. As a result, dozens of local employees have been dismissed and the British diplomats are preparing to leave. Officials familiar with the matter said the British were particularly angered by the short notice Israel gave their diplomats — 30 days to leave Israel. By comparison, Russia gave Britain four months to close its consulate in St. Petersburg in response to an espionage dispute between the two countries.
Lapid against Sa’ar: 'Creating crises is not a policy'
(Photo: Shalev Shalom, Yoav Dudkevitch)
Britain has not publicly announced how it will respond to Israel’s measures because officials believed they could persuade Jerusalem to reverse course through quiet, behind-the-scenes contacts. However, as previously reported, ynet has learned that Britain has already conveyed a message to Israeli officials through Ambassador Simon Walters that if the decision remains in place, it will be forced to take a severe step of its own and expel 27 diplomats serving at the Israeli Embassy in London.
In other words, one Israeli diplomat would be expelled for every British diplomat whose work in East Jerusalem has been terminated.
If Britain does take such a step, it would severely impair the Israeli Embassy’s ability to function. The embassy’s diplomatic staff numbers more than 27, but not by much. The ambassador’s post has also been vacant for more than a year, since Tzipi Hotovely returned to Israel in September 2025. The embassy is currently headed by chargé d’affaires Christian Cantor.
The British Embassy declined to comment on the report.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, No. 2 on the Beyachad ("Together") party list, responded to the British step being considered following Sa’ar’s decision: “Creating crises is not a policy. Picking fights with the entire world is not a policy. What this means in practice is shutting down the Israeli Embassy in London. How exactly does that benefit the State of Israel?”