UK-Israel Tensions Escalate; Netanyahu Orders Shutting British Consulate In Jerusalem

Israel will also bar 11 British lawmakers from entering the country, including MPs Zarah Sultana, Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott.

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File image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Netanyahu/X)

Israel has unveiled a set of countermeasures against Britain, including a decision to close the UK consulate in Jerusalem, following London's move to restrict imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Gideon Saar, the foreign minister in the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government, said the closure was one of four counter-measures being taken against the UK. 

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Israel will also bar 11 British lawmakers from entering the country, including MPs Zarah Sultana, Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott.

The measures come after UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament that Britain would ban imports of goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

Miliband accused "settler terrorists" of carrying out ethnic cleansing and alleged that the Israeli government was turning a blind eye to the violence.

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The UK is among 11 countries backing similar measures targeting Israeli settlements, with France, Canada, Spain and Poland also set to impose sanctions. 

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law by much of the international community.

The latest tensions come as Israel plans to advance the development of around 1,200 new homes in the occupied West Bank, while settler attacks against Palestinians have increased this year.

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Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis criticised the government's decision, calling it a "dark day for British Jews".

He described the measures as "gesture politics", arguing that they could undermine Jewish safety and do little to advance peace.

Mirvis said the government had ignored concerns raised by British Jews and warned that the measures could instead strengthen the extremism they were intended to counter.

The developments mark a fresh deterioration in UK-Israel relations amid growing international pressure over Israel's settlement policy and the wider conflict.

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