Andy Burnham is expected to press ahead with a dramatic “mass expulsion” threat as the diplomatic row with Israel deepens. The dispute started when Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a trade ban on goods coming from "illegal" settlements in the West Bank.
In response, Israel ordered the closure of Britain's consulate, which appears to be going ahead today. Miliband has confirmed the UK has withdrawn staff and families from the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, matching the 30-day deadline imposed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
UK Mission to replace consulate
Rather than shutting the site completely, Miliband said the building will stay open but be stripped of its consulate status and rebranded as the “UK Mission” - with staff drawn down “to ensure their safety”.
Miliband also hit out in Parliament, accusing West Bank settler groups of “ethnic cleansing”. This comes after over 600 Israeli university faculty members, including Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Aaron Ciechanover and David Harel, President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, signed a historic public petition explicitly condemning the actions of settler groups.
One-for-one expulsion threat
Behind the scenes, the threat of expulsions has been hanging over the talks. Reports of a “one-for-one” crackdown stem from a private warning from British ambassador Simon Walters, who is said to have threatened; if 27 British diplomats were forced out of Jerusalem, the UK would expel 27 Israeli diplomats and their families from London in return, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
Talks to avert the showdown failed, despite National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell flying to Israel in a last-ditch bid, according to Al Jazeera. Sa’ar wrote online: “We did not want it to come to this,” as he insisted “the British Consulate in Jerusalem is closing its operations today. Accordingly, the sign of the British Consulate in Jerusalem has been removed.”
He added that an agreement had been reached for “the consul general and 20 diplomats… [to] leave Israel”, while Israel would allow “a task force of only seven diplomats with a very limited scope of activity” to remain in the British-owned building, the BBC reported.
UK reserves right to retaliate
Miliband rejected the idea that Israel has the legal right to shut the post down, stressing: “The UK government reiterates its long-standing view that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.” He said the building “will not be closing” and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem.
But he warned “necessary assurances for the security and protections of our staff and premises” had not been secured - prompting the temporary withdrawal. Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty insisted: “The building remains open. We retain our presence.”
On retaliation, Miliband signalled the UK’s next move may be delayed, saying Britain reserved the right to take “reciprocal action” - but would not do so while “discussions are under way and credible”.
