Could Britain defy Israel’s order to shut down its East Jerusalem consulate? - Middle East Eye

A faded union jack was still fluttering defiantly over the British Consulate in the troubled Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem this morning. 

The door of the consulate was open for business as usual. But there is uncertainty over how much longer that will be the case.

No more than ten days are left before it closes, if Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar has his way. 

Three weeks ago Saar announced the closure of the consulate as part of a package of retaliatory measures following UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements. He gave a deadline of 8 October.

It has been widely assumed that Britain would comply with this Israeli order, but Middle East Eye can reveal this is not certain.

Today, this reporter received an evasive response when we approached the Foreign Office asking for confirmation that Britain would close the consulate. 

We understand that, although a final decision has not yet been made, Britain may be pondering whether to defy the Israeli ultimatum.

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 has commissioned a legal opinion from Dominic Grieve KC, who served as attorney-general under the last Conservative government.

In his opinion, seen by Middle East Eye, 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 opines 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.”

Meanwhile Chris Doyle, director of the Council for British Arab Understanding, told MEE that Britain should defy the Israeli government, saying: “The British government should do all in its power to keep the consulate open. It is a vital link to Palestinians in the city. Israel must adhere scrupulously to its legal obligations, and end the violations of international law which triggered this spat.”

There’s little question that an act of defiance would deepen the already raw diplomatic tensions between Britain and Israel triggered by the ban on trade with the settlements.

While it is unlikely that Israeli security would physically remove staff from the premises, 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.

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King has already called on the Israeli government to cut electricity and water to the consulate. 

Leading a small demonstration outside the consulate two weeks ago, King explained: “If you are looking at Jerusalem as the occupied territory, and if you are not considering us, the municipality of Jerusalem and the government of Israel, as the sovereign of this place, why are you getting all of these services from us?” 

If such threats were carried out, British diplomats would find themselves operating under siege conditions, as was the case in 1990 after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait when embassy staff found themselves stranded and drinking water out of the embassy swimming pool.

The British Consulate in East Jerusalem has plenty of first-hand knowledge of settler pressure and house evictions in the turbulent Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. 

Now the embassy staff face the prospect of being evicted themselves.