Key Points
- European states oppose settlement expansion threatening two-state solution
- Britain, France and allies impose settlement-related trade restrictions
- E1 project could isolate East Jerusalem from West Bank
ISLAMABAD: Israel has ordered the United Kingdom (UK) to close its consulate in East Jerusalem within 30 days, escalating a diplomatic confrontation with European countries over Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The decision came after Britain, France, Canada and nine other countries announced restrictions on trade in goods and services linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Tel Aviv also ordered British personnel working with a US-led Gaza coordination mission and diplomats based in Ramallah to leave within seven days.
The retaliation followed growing European opposition to the Israeli settlement policies, particularly the controversial E1 project east of Jerusalem.
The European Union has maintained that the settlements in the West Bank, including E1, are illegal under international law and has warned that the project threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.
The E1 project involves plans for thousands of new settlement homes between East Jerusalem and the Jewish settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
European governments have warned that development in the area could effectively sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and undermine the territorial continuity required for a two-state solution.
Several European countries have intensified pressure on Tel Aviv over the settlement plans.
READ ALSO: UK, France and Canada Sanction Israeli Settlements in Occupied West Bank
Britain, France, Spain and other European states have backed measures targeting settlement-related trade, with the latest move extending pressure beyond diplomatic criticism towards economic restrictions.
Israel’s East Jerusalem Settlement
The dispute also centres on the status of East Jerusalem, which European governments do not recognise as sovereign Israeli territory.
The EU opposes unilateral measures that could prejudge Jerusalem’s final status and supports resolving the city’s status through negotiations as part of a two-state resolution of the Palestinian issue.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said London had decided it could not stand by in the face of settlement expansion and settler violence against Palestinians.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the sanctions as interference in Israel’s affairs and announced retaliatory measures against Britain.
The British consulate in East Jerusalem has traditionally handled British relations with the Palestinians, including affairs concerning East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Its closure would therefore affect a diplomatic mission that has operated in Jerusalem since the 19th century.
The latest confrontation marks a further deterioration in the Zionist state’s relations with several European governments, as opposition to settlement expansion increasingly shifts from political condemnation towards trade restrictions and other punitive measures.
