Israel Closes UK Consulate, Expels British Representatives from Gaza Center

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced Tuesday that Israel would close Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem and expel British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat in response to British sanctions on Israeli settlements.

Sa’ar said Britain would also be excluded from the U.S.-led Gaza coordination mission based in Israel and barred from training Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank.

The measures were announced in response to British sanctions targeting Israeli settlements, which Sa’ar characterized as interference in Israel’s coming election.

Gaza Coordination Role Cut

“We are shutting down the British consulate in Jerusalem. We will expel British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat,” Sa’ar said.

He said Britain would no longer be permitted to participate in the U.S.-led Gaza coordination mission operating from Israel.

The decision extends the dispute beyond diplomatic representation, cutting Britain out of mechanisms linked to Gaza and Palestinian security affairs.

West Bank Training Halted

Sa’ar also said Israel would stop Britain from training Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank.

The restrictions form part of a broader response to London’s settlement sanctions and include entry bans on 12 British nationals.

Those named 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, as well as Fahad Ansari, director of Riverway to the Sea.

“Those who act against Israel, Israel will act against them,” Sa’ar said. “Measures against Israel will not remain without a response.”

Sa’ar Accuses Labour Government

Sa’ar accused the British Labour government of pursuing a hostile policy toward Israel and rejected accusations made by the U.K. foreign secretary in parliament.

“We have a hostile Labour government in Britain that is consistently operating against Israel, and it has left us no choice but to respond to its hostile actions,” he said.

He argued that British policy toward Israeli settlements amounted to direct political intervention ahead of elections.

Sa’ar also said the Israeli public broadly backed Jewish settlement in the West Bank and opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, describing British policy as an attempt to impose a different outcome.

The foreign minister further invoked the Balfour Declaration and historical Jewish claims to the territory in defending Israel’s position.