Israeli authorities have told the British consulate in East Jerusalem that it must close and that diplomats there will lose their accreditation within 30 days.
British representatives assigned to a US-led Gaza co-ordination mission in Israel, as well as British diplomats based in Ramallah, must leave within seven days, sources told Reuters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had said on Tuesday that Israel would close Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem in retaliation for the UK's decision to expand a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Mr Saar described the British measures as “morally distorted” and “blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and its electoral process”, accusing UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband of telling “outrageous lies” in his criticism of Israel.
Britain said it would sanction individuals and entities involved in settlement expansion. Mr Miliband accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” in parts of the West Bank and said the UK could no longer simply condemn the situation without taking action.
France, Canada and nine other countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden – have joined the initiative. They said they would introduce or consider national measures targeting trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, citing settlement expansion and rising settler violence as threats to the two-state solution.
France cited the “frenzied expansion” of settlements and a flare-up in violence as reasons for its decision.
Israel's government, which expected the sanctions, is set to discuss its response to countries that have signed up to the UK's initiative, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
France and Sweden have consulates in Jerusalem accredited to the Palestinian Authority.
Israel has previously forced the closure of diplomatic offices in Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, where countries including Canada have a presence.
Settler violence has surged in the West Bank this year. Since the beginning of 2026, 23 Palestinians have been killed and about 1,900 injured by settlers in the West Bank, says the UN.
