STORY
Israel has announced that it will close the British Consulate General in Jerusalem in response to the UK Government’s decision to restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the measure had been agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and accused Britain of interfering in Israel’s affairs ahead of its national election in October.
Sa’ar also said Britain would be excluded from a United States led coordination mission for Gaza and prevented from continuing its training of Palestinian Authority personnel in the West Bank. A group of British politicians and campaigners, including Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Zarah Sultana, will be prohibited from entering Israel. The timetable for implementing the consulate closure and the other measures has not yet been confirmed.
The British sanctions will prohibit imports from Israeli settlements and restrict services including finance, construction and property advertising connected with them. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the measures were intended to oppose settlement expansion and protect the possibility of a two state solution. Israel disputes the widespread international view that its settlements breach international law and described the British action as discriminatory. The UK Government has not announced whether it will take any further action in response to Israel’s measures.