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

Former British consul Sir Vincent Fean says Israel is acting unlawfully in the wake of a new wave of sanctions. Save Share 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. “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 50 or so Palestinian staff. UK-Israel ties have reached a nadir. On Monday,reports claimedthat 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’simport banon 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....