Britain removes East Jerusalem consulate signage as Israeli shutdown order expires

Workers removed signs and plaques from the British consulate in East Jerusalem overnight. The consulate was due to shut by Thursday as Israel had ordered its closure over London's plans to impose sanctions on settlements in the West Bank. According to the Jerusalem Post, a plaque reading "British Consulate General" and a sign for the consular section were taken down, but the British flag remained flying over the building.

The Israeli government had given Britain 30 days to close the consulate and remove its diplomats from the city, after Britain announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The closure order does not affect Britain's embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel's government. The consulate, located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, handles Britain's relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, and provides consular services to Palestinians.

The British consulate's presence in Jerusalem dates back almost 200 years. There was no immediate comment from the consulate.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Jerusalem Post, Ajel English — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.