JERUSALEM, 8 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Israel on Thursday ended the functions of the British consulate in Jerusalem and significantly reduced the United Kingdom’s diplomatic presence, allowing only seven British diplomats to remain in a limited capacity. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said 20 diplomats, including the British consul general, were ending their missions and leaving the country following a decision to downsize the UK presence. He said the move followed dialogue between the Israeli and British governments aimed at preventing further escalation in bilateral tensions. Saar said the consulate building remained British government property but would now operate with a task force of only seven diplomats and with a significantly limited scope of activities. Britain said it would continue providing vital services from the premises, which would be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem. British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said the United Kingdom did not accept that the Israeli government had the legal right to enforce the closure and pledged that Britain would work in the coming months to rebuild its diplomatic presence. The dispute began after Israel ordered the consulate’s closure in September in retaliation for Britain joining Western sanctions over violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israel also announced measures against British representatives involved in monitoring the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan, restricted British training for Palestinian Authority forces and imposed entry bans on 12 Britons, mostly members of parliament. Saar said those measures had now been implemented. The British consulate in Jerusalem was established nearly 200 years ago and has played an important role in Britain’s political, commercial, security and economic relations with Palestinians, while also providing consular services to British nationals in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Britain and most other countries do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem, including occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.