Labour MP Emily Thornberry urges Britain to defy Israeli order to close Jerusalem consulate

Labour MP Emily Thornberry urges Britain to defy Israeli order to close Jerusalem consulate

Submitted by Peter Oborne on Mon, 10/05/2026 - 12:44 The chair of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee tells MEE that Israel's closure order is ‘illegal’ Labour politician Emily Thornberry after being appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Buckingham Palace, London, 10 June 2025 (AFP) Off

Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of parliament’s influential Foreign Affairs Committee, has called on Britain to refuse compliance with Israel’s closure of the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem.

Her intervention comes amidst mounting anxiety among Palestinians that Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will submit to Israeli pressure and shut the consulate on Thursday.

Middle East Eye understands that the foreign secretary’s decision is being watched closely by other consulates, including France and Spain, who fear they will be next to be forced out if the British quit.

Thornberry told MEE on Monday that the closure of the consulate was a “blatant retaliation against Britain for standing up for international law. The closure order is in itself illegal.”

“I hope that Israel will not go through with the closure of a consulate which has served Britons and Palestinians since 1838. Britain should not allow Israel to do this,” she said.

Prayers were said in the Anglican cathedral on Sunday morning that the consulate could be saved. Special mention was made of the welfare of Palestinian staff, many of whom are certain to lose their jobs if the consulate is closed

Richard Sewell, Dean of St George’s College, told MEE that he was “really disturbed by the prospect of the imminent closure of the British consulate. It is a further attack on the Palestinian community and will severely impact the UK's relationship with them.”

The Dean warned that closure “will also impact UK nationals living in East Jerusalem as well as British pilgrims, and visitors to Jerusalem. It is really important that this move should be resisted.”

Domino effect

There is alarm that Britain will for the first time lack a diplomatic presence at the annual Remembrance Day service due to be held next month at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.

Historically, the British consul-general always officiates at the event, which is normally followed by a reception in the consulate. Many thousands of British and Commonwealth troops were killed in Palestine in World War One and World War Two.

'The closure of the consulate was a blatant retaliation against Britain for standing up for international law. The closure order is in itself illegal'

- Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of Foreign Affairs Committee

Middle East Eye understands that the future of the British Council office in East Jerusalem, which depends on British diplomatic representation, may also be jeopardised.

Britain has two diplomatic missions to Israel and Palestine: the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate to Palestinians, based in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where Palestinian residents have faced years of threats of eviction and settlement expansion.

Many Palestinians have told MEE of the importance of the work of the British consulate in providing witness of human rights abuses and reporting them back to London in a way that the British embassy in Tel Aviv cannot.

They have also expressed fear that the closure of the consulate will lead the way to the collapse of other diplomatic missions as part of a more generalised assault on Palestinian identity across Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. 

Thanks to the repressive environment enforced by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Jerusalem Palestinians who voice criticism of Israel said they fear arrest and imprisonment. 

That can include torture, as documented by human rights organisations including the Israeli group B’Tsalem. Middle East Eye has therefore chosen not to publish the names of Palestinians we have spoken to.

Disaster for Palestinians

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced the decision to close the consulate last month in retaliation against the British move to ban trade with Israeli settlements. 

Many Palestinians interviewed by MEE believe that it is significant that Saar responded with measures against the British consulate rather than the embassy in Tel Aviv.

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

Focus on the consulate means that it is difficult for Britain to respond with reprisal measures against Israeli diplomats in London.

More importantly it fits in with a wider Israeli project to make life difficult if not impossible for foreign organisations, including aid agencies, international bodies and consulates, to operate out of occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinians have noted that Israel’s closure of the British consulate is unlawful, since Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem is illegal under international law. 

Miliband recently recognised the landmark International Court of Justice judgment of July 2024, which ruled that the Israeli occupation of the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, was illegal.

Former British Attorney General Dominic Grieve KC wrote in a legal opinion last week 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 wrote that “Israel is asserting a right it does not possess as an occupying power to impose sovereign control over East Jerusalem.”

He further noted that British consul generals do not present commissions to Israel, meaning “there is no accreditation to Israel for Israel to withdraw”.

Every Palestinian Middle East Eye spoke to insisted that the closure of the consulate would be seen as a victory for Israel and a disaster for Palestinians.

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