Ed Miliband confirms UK is considering defying Israeli order to close East Jerusalem consulate

Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 09/29/2026 - 08:09 The foreign secretary says the UK is ‘looking at all our options’ and discussing the matter with other countries

Britain's Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband speaks on stage on the first day of the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool, north-west England, on 27 September (AFP) Off

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has confirmed the UK government is considering defying the Israeli order to close the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, saying “we do not want this to happen”.

The Israeli government ordered the closure of the consulate in retaliation for Miliband’s announcement of sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements earlier this month, giving Britain a deadline of 8 October.

It has previously been assumed that Britain would comply with this Israeli order, but Middle East Eye revealed on Monday that a final decision had not yet been made.

The consulate is in occupied Palestinian territory and Britain recognises the state of Palestine, meaning the UK government does not accept Israel’s order to close the consulate as legitimate.

Foreign Office officials gave an evasive response when approached on Monday morning asking for confirmation that Britain would close the consulate.

But Miliband addressed the issue in an interview with LBC later that day.

Asked whether the UK could refuse to close the consulate, the foreign secretary said: “We are looking at all our options on this.”

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Of the prospect of the consulate in East Jerusalem closing, Miliband insisted: “We do not want this to happen - because it would damage the very important work that we are doing helping people in those communities, including Palestinians.

“The consulate has been there for nearly 200 years, and this is a long-standing position that we have had.”

Miliband condemned the Israeli government’s position, saying: “Morally, it’s completely the wrong thing for them to do.”

Pressed again on what course of action Britain will take, the foreign secretary responded: “I’m going to be circumspect in what I say about this, but we’re looking at all our options.”

He revealed he was talking to foreign ministers around the world about the issue and that the UK’s presence in Jerusalem was “very, very important”.

An act of defiance would almost certainly lead to an enormous diplomatic conflict between Britain and Israel, with tensions already high over the UK’s settlement sanctions.

While it is unlikely that Israeli security would physically remove staff from the premises of the consulate, it can easily block entry to Israel, meaning that British diplomats would be banned from returning to Jerusalem after going on leave.

With Israeli settlers already active in the area around the embassy, there are fears that British diplomats would face harassment, with local staff especially vulnerable.

'Not just wrong, illegal'

Sir Vincent Fean, trustee of the British Palestine Project and himself a former consul-general in East Jerusalem, on Monday told MEE that “Israel’s threat to close the British consulate-general is not just wrong - it is illegal”.

The British Palestine Project commissioned a legal opinion from Dominic Grieve KC, who served as attorney general under the last Conservative government.

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In his opinion, seen by MEE, Grieve says that Israel has made “an unlawful assertion of sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory. Successive British governments have affirmed that Israel’s rights in East Jerusalem are limited to those of an occupying power.”

Grieve additionally says that “Israel is asserting a right it does not possess as an occupying power to impose sovereign control over East Jerusalem.”

He notes that the British Mission in East Jerusalem “conducts locally the British government’s relations with the Palestinians. Retaining a consulate-general in East Jerusalem after recognition of the State of Palestine preserves the UK's position that Jerusalem's final status remains to be determined. It does not concede Israeli sovereignty.”

Grieve further notes that British consul generals do not present commissions to Israel, meaning “There is no accreditation to Israel for Israel to withdraw."

He also warns: “The closure falls on Palestinians, not on Britain alone. Closure threatens consular services, including for British pilgrims, other visitors and residents of Palestine. It hampers aid oversight and reporting from the West Bank and Gaza.”

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