UK Threatens to Expel 27 Israeli Diplomats Over Jerusalem Consulate

Britain has threatened to expel up to 27 Israeli diplomats from London if Israel proceeds with closing the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, after a last-ditch mission by the UK's National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, failed to resolve the dispute, sources told several news organisations on October 5 and 6, 2026.¹⁵⁶

Dispute over sanctions and closure order

This standoff emerged after Britain unveiled, on September 8, a package of financial penalties targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, among them a prohibition on trading goods manufactured there. That same day, Israel retaliated by directing Britain to shut down its East Jerusalem consulate, the office responsible for managing ties with Palestinian communities across East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.³⁴⁶

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar ordered the closure of the consulate and revoked the diplomatic credentials of its roughly 30 staff, giving the 27 British diplomats affected 30 days to leave. Israel's foreign ministry said the mission would close on Thursday as announced, and the deadline was set to take effect on October 8.⁸³⁴

Jonathan Powell travelled to Israel for last-minute talks aimed at persuading Israel to reverse the closure order, and also met King Abdullah II of Jordan. The discussions ended without agreement.⁸³⁴⁶

Threat of expulsions

In retaliation, Britain is weighing the removal of a comparable number of Israeli diplomats stationed at the embassy in London, with some reports suggesting the total could reach 27. Simon Walters, Britain's ambassador to Israel, delivered the warning, stating that for every one of the 27 British diplomats affected by the closure, London would send home one Israeli diplomat in turn.⁵¹¹⁸⁹

Such tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats are more commonly seen among adversarial states than between allies, according to the BBC. A spokesperson for the British embassy would not discuss the reported warning, and officials at both the British and Israeli foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reported expulsions.²⁶⁴

Israeli diplomatic officials indicated that any British action would prompt a reaction, saying they saw no need to comment on speculation about choices other nations might make going forward. They added that Israel had already shown it would answer every action taken against it, and that this approach would persist.⁹

Political reactions

Sa'ar charged that Britain's Labour Party harbors animosity toward Israel and claimed the UK government was meddling in Israel's forthcoming general election. A representative of Israel stated that whatever steps Britain might take against Israel would not go unanswered.⁷¹⁴

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the closure "would damage the very important work that we are doing, helping people in those communities." Emily Thornberry, chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said the closure of the consulate in occupied Palestinian territory was not Israel's prerogative and amounted to an attempt by Israel's government to block a two-state solution, adding: "It is illegal, and the UK must resist it."²³

Dominic Grieve, who previously served as UK attorney general, wrote in an advisory paper that the closure represented "an unlawful assertion of Israeli sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem," arguing that the settlement sanctions served merely as "an excuse" with control over Jerusalem being "the object." He contended that the closure ought to be contested as yet another instance of Israel exceeding the authority permitted to an occupying power.³

Within Israel, opposition figure Yair Lapid criticised the government's approach, saying: "Creating crises is not a policy. Starting conflicts with every other country does not amount to having a policy, he said. In practical terms, he said, this approach results in closing Israel's embassy in London. He questioned what benefit this actually brings to the State of Israel.⁹

Background to the consulate

The British Consulate in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood has operated for almost 200 years, having been established in 1838. The mission employs roughly 30 British personnel, and several dozen locally hired workers have lost their jobs amid the closure.²⁵³⁹

Last year Britain officially recognised Palestine as a state, and it has contended that the growth of Israeli settlements along with rising settler violence against Palestinians is eroding the chances for a two-state solution–a view that Netanyahu's government disputes. France and Canada also announced sanctions over the settlements but, unlike Britain, have not had retaliatory action taken against their missions.⁴⁵¹