'Not the act of a friend': Israel's deadline to close UK consulate nears

London, United Kingdom - The deadline Israel imposed on the United Kingdom to close its East Jerusalem consulate is fast approaching.

Thursday marks 30 days since Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's order, a retaliatory move against the UK's wave of sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements.

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"It's not the act of a friend or ally," Sir Vincent Fean, former British consul general to Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera. "The British Consulate General has every right to be in Jerusalem, in East Jerusalem, part of the state of Palestine."

From 2010 until 2014, Fean held the post as the de facto ambassador to occupied Palestinian territory. He is now a trustee of the Britain Palestine Project, advocating for equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.

"In international law, for [the UK], and for the vast majority of the world, Israel does not have the right to interfere with the diplomatic relations between the state of Palestine and the state of the United Kingdom. It is doing so by closing our office, and that is unlawful," he said, adding that he is "particularly concerned" for the consulate's 15 or so Palestinian staff.

UK-Israel ties have reached a nadir. On Monday, reports claimed that the UK could expel 27 Israeli diplomats if the consulate closure goes ahead.

British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell has reportedly held talks with Israeli officials in a visit that was not disclosed by the UK government, but an agreement to keep the consulate open was not reached.

Israel's response was furious following the UK's import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as well as an overall change of tone. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has, for instance, lamented Israel's "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Miliband expected Israel to retaliate, but said the UK had "weighed the costs and benefits of acting".

In addition to the consulate closure order, Israel expelled the UK from the Washington-led coordination centre for post-war Gaza and barred 11 lawmakers from entering Israel, including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

"It is illegal and unlawful for Israel to act in this way," Fean told Al Jazeera. "There's been a reset in UK foreign policy since [Prime Minister Andy] Burnham and Miliband came in."

Israel's hostile actions towards the UK "will not be forgiven or forgotten anytime soon", he added.

In a brief by the Britain Palestine Project that was endorsed by former UK Attorney General Dominic Grieve KC and shared with Al Jazeera, the threatened closure is described as "an unlawful assertion of sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory".

"The Israeli announcement usurps the rights of the State of Palestine," it reads.

Resolution 478 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council - of which the UK is a permanent member - in 1980, resolving that Israel's attempts to alter the status of Jerusalem are "null and void".

In 2016, Resolution 2334 reiterated this, "condemning all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem".

The UK formally recognised the State of Palestine in September of 2025.

If the UK resists Israel's orders, there are various logistical challenges Israel could feasibly impose on the consulate and the diplomats within it.

"The practicality is that the Consulate General depends on Israeli electricity [and] water. So there are means by which Israel could force the expulsion, the closure, of the Consulate General," Fean told Al Jazeera. "I don't know what's going to happen, but this Israeli government has broken many laws," he said when asked if Israel may use electricity or water cut-offs as a means to expel British diplomats.

While reiterating that the UK's East Jerusalem consulate should remain open despite orders, Fean said that "if that proves to be made impossible by force of the Israeli government, then there are alternatives."

Foreign embassies in Ramallah could be an alternate route to manage consulate affairs, he said.

The consulate acts as the channel of communications between the UK and the Palestinian government and manages consular affairs for British nationals in the region, including pilgrims to the West Bank.

"Yet again, Israel is taking it out on the Palestinians for something that somebody else has done," said Fean. "The impunity of Israel needs to be challenged. The fact that this Israeli government seems to see itself as above the law needs to be challenged."

Human rights advocates have urged the UK to resist Israel's orders.

"Such a retaliatory step from Israel suggests that any further measures taken by the UK could trigger further responses," said Zena Agha, deputy director of the British Palestinian Committee. "But that should not deter the UK from meeting its obligations under international law - nor pursuing measures towards accountability for Israel's genocide and occupation."

Shamiul Joarder, director of Friends of al-Aqsa, reiterated the illegality of Israel's actions and told Al Jazeera, "If Britain accepts this order, it risks allowing Israel to dictate the terms of Britain's diplomatic presence in occupied East Jerusalem. That would set a deeply concerning precedent."

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment on Israel's orders to close the British Consulate, nor on the UK's intended response.