Israel to close British consulate in East Jerusalem after UK, France and Canada ban imports from settlements
By Alexander Cornwell, Elizabeth Piper and John Irish
LONDON/TEL AVIV/PARIS, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Israel said on Tuesday it was closing Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem in response to plans by the UK, France and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Britain will also no longer participate in a U.S.-led coordination mission for Gaza and some British officials, including former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and other nationals will be banned from entering Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
"The British move is morally distorted, and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and its electoral process," he said, describing comments by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband about ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israel as accusations that were "outrageous lies".
The British consulate in East Jerusalem is accredited to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Saar said that he had coordinated Israel's response with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he accused Britain of interfering in Israel's upcoming elections, due in late October.
TRADE MEASURES
The trade measures proposed by Britain, France and Canada on Tuesday are the latest in a series of actions targeting Israel's settlement policy and underscore its growing diplomatic isolation among some of its traditional allies.
"Today marks a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two-state solution," UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a joint statement.They added that they would promote their efforts at the United Nations General Assembly later in September.
The foreign ministers of nine other countries, including Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden, in a separate statement reaffirmed support for a negotiated two-state settlement - aPalestinian state co-existing peacefully alongside Israel.
"Together, we are resolute: the two-state solution must be protected, and we will take action in pursuit of a just and lasting peace," they said.
Miliband said Britain could no longer simply "call out" injustice and suffering, but had to act to oppose the expansion of settlements.
Canada has for decades believed that the two-state solution is the best proposal for achieving long-term peace in the Middle East and addressing Israel's security concerns, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand wrote on X.
"Illegal settlements in the West Bank significantly undermine these objectives," she wrote.
The United Nations, Palestinians and most countries regard settlements as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this. A Reuters report published on Tuesday found Israel's government is financing some of the West Bank's most radical settlers, who use illegal outpost farms to displace Palestinians.
"FRENZIED EXPANSION" OF SETTLEMENTS
France cited the "frenzied expansion" of settlements and a "flare up of violence" as the reasons for it taking action.
But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the sanctions could be destabilising for the West Bank, adding that Washington would not block imports from Israeli settlements.
Britain's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described the plans for sanctions as "a dark day for British Jews" and accused the UK government of "gesture politics".
"These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target," Mirvis wrote on X.
The main produce from West Bank settlements is agricultural, including dates, citrus fruits, herbs and wine, and makes up only a tiny fraction of Israel's total exports.
This means the trade bans are largely symbolic, and will not dent larger bilateral trade flows, but are part of wider efforts to reinforce support for the two-state solution, just as Israel announced plans for 1,000 new West Bank homes on Tuesday.
Miliband, who became Britain's foreign minister in July, went further, saying the UK believes that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank.
"Today we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution," Miliband said, referring to a model Israel opposes.
The focus of recent concerns is Israel's E1 settlement project in the West Bank not far from Jerusalem, which would cut across land the Palestinians seek for a future independent state.
ISRAEL-UK RELATIONS INCREASINGLY STRAINED
Israel-UK relations have become increasingly strained in recent years, with London criticising Israel's conduct in Gaza, the expansion of West Bank settlements and rising settler attacks on Palestinians.
Britain in 2025 joined other countries to recognise a Palestinian state as a means to promote the two-state solution, and had already issued sanctions over West Bank settlements in June.
France's ban on goods from Israeli settlements comes amid growing frustration among some European Union member states that have pushed for a bloc-wide response, but have so far failed to secure the qualified majority needed for EU action, largely because of opposition from countries including Germany.
Miliband said the new legislation would be in place in six to nine months, but he said he was also immediately sanctioning a number of extremist settlers.
Recognising the threat to Israel from Iran, Miliband added that he would sanction Hezbollah-run financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan and would reimpose economic sanctions on Iran in line with the EU and U.S.
($1 = 0.7393 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Elizabeth Piper in London, Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv, John Irish in Paris and Maria Cheng in Ottawa; additional reporting by Steven Scheer and Lina Obeid in Jerusalem, Michael Holden in London;Writing by Sarah Young and Charlie Devereux;Editing by Aidan Lewis, Ros Russell and Timothy Heritage)
