Britain threatens to expel 27 Israeli diplomats over the East Jerusalem consulate

Britain has threatened to expel 27 Israeli diplomats if Israel closes the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, as Al Jazeera reports. The warning was delivered to Tel Aviv by the British ambassador to Israel, Simon Walters.

According to the report, London would expel one Israeli diplomat for each of the 27 British diplomats whose status would end with the closure of the consulate — a measured one-for-one response.

Israel ordered the consulate to close by 8 October, in retaliation for British sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The move deepens the diplomatic clash between London and Tel Aviv, against the backdrop of the ongoing war in the Middle East and growing international pressure on Israel over its actions in the occupied territories.