This article is from: srnnews.com
Israel Closes British Consulate, Imposes Countermeasures Over UK Sanctions
Israel announced Tuesday that it will close the British Consulate in Jerusalem, remove British representatives from a Gaza support center and bar 12 British elected officials and nationals from entering the country in response to new UK sanctions against Israel.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the measures with the agreement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Britain’s Labour government imposed new sanctions targeting communities in Judea and Samaria and announced additional measures concerning arms.
Israel will also remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and end British activities training Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria through the “British Support Team in Ramallah.”
Among those denied entry are Jeremy Corbyn MP, Zarah Sultana MP, Naz Shah MP, Diane Abbott MP, Hannah Spencer MP, Carla Denyer MP, Sian Berry MP, Ellie Chowns MP, John McDonnell MP, Richard Burgon MP and Adrian Ramsay MP, along with Fahad Ansari, Director of Riverway to the Sea.
Sa’ar accused the Labour government of pursuing an increasingly hostile policy toward Israel and rejected accusations made by the British foreign secretary in Parliament.
At the House of Commons on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and declared a new British approach to the conflict.
“The accusations made today by the Foreign Secretary of the Labour Government in the British Parliament were outrageous lies,” Sa’ar said.
He also accused Britain of interfering in Israel’s electoral process and rejected British criticism of Israeli development plans in E1. Sa’ar said no new decision had been made on E1 development, with the decision taken more than a year ago and the tender process underway for many months.
Israel’s E1 (East 1) development plan involves constructing thousands of housing units and infrastructure on a 12-square-kilometer tract of land in the West Bank between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement,
Sa’ar said Britain’s latest action followed a series of measures taken since the Labour government came to power in July 2024, including recognition of a Palestinian state in September 2025, renewed UNRWA funding, restrictions on defense exports to Israel, sanctions against Israeli ministers, individuals and entities, and suspension of free trade negotiations.
Israel could take similar steps against other countries that impose measures against it, Sa’ar warned.
“Measures against Israel will not go unanswered,” he said.
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