JERUSALEM/LONDON: British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said on Thursday that the British Consulate General building in East Jerusalem would not close, but would instead be known as a UK Mission, remaining independent, operational and serving the Palestinian people.

Israel had ordered the British consulate in East Jerusalem to close on Thursday over London’s plans to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the British Consul General and 20 diplomats would leave Israel, while the mission’s operations in Jerusalem would be limited to seven staff members. Some British diplomats would be allowed to continue work in the building under a deal struck between Israel and Britain, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

Miliband said Britain had withdrawn a number of staff and their families in recent weeks but would now work to build up its presence again.

Britain rules out reciprocal action

He said Britain would not take any reciprocal action against Israel while the two sides engage in talks, following speculation that London could expel Israeli diplomats from Britain.

The British Foreign Office reaffirmed Britain’s position that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.

Britain will not take any measures against Israel as a result of closing the Jerusalem consulate, Saar said.

Consulate’s role in Palestinian territories

Israel has been adamant the consulate will close even as Britain sought to keep it open, including sending the country’s top national security adviser to Israel last week for talks.

Britain’s presence in the city dates back almost 200 years, long before the State of Israel was established in 1948. The closure order does not affect Britain’s embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel’s government.

The consulate, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, handles Britain’s relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza. It also provides consular services to Palestinians.

Britain’s Foreign Office on Wednesday declined to comment when asked whether the consulate was still operating or any British diplomats working there had returned to the UK.

Sources have said the order to close the consulate affects around 30 British diplomats along with their family members.

Tensions between allies deepen

Britain is considering expelling Israeli diplomats from Israel’s embassy in the United Kingdom in response to any closure of the consulate, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

It would be a highly unusual step for the allies to expel each other’s diplomats. Despite the current strains, the UK and Israel are close economic, security and intelligence partners.

The British sanctions announcement, and Israel’s order to close the consulate, mark a new low in a relationship that has deteriorated over the past three years. Britain has repeatedly criticized Israel over its actions in the war in Gaza and over Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

The United Nations and most countries consider the settlements to be illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has accused Britain’s governing Labour Party of being hostile towards Israel.