Workers removed signs and plaques at the British consulate in East Jerusalem overnight and its doors are set to close today as relations between Israel and the UK deteriorate.
asserted
relations → remove → Israel
Workers in the consulate were seen removing a plaque reading 'British Consulate General' and another sign for its consular section.
The British flag was still flying over the building.
asserted
flag → see → building
Israel last month ordered Britain to close the consulate within 30 days and remove its diplomats from the city, after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a trade ban on goods made there.
asserted
Miliband → order → goods
On Tuesday, Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat accused Mr Miliband of pursuing a 'personal agenda' in his hardline against Israel.
asserted
Tugendhat → accuse → Israel
UK officials have been scrambling to reach a deal to keep the building open but Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar last night insisted his country was holding firm.
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country → scramble → building
The UK's top national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, quietly visited Israel last week in an attempt to keep the consulate open but failed to reach an agreement.
asserted
adviser → visit → agreement
The move will see the consulate's diplomatic status removed and legally bar around 30 diplomats from operating out of the building.
asserted
status → see → building
A combination image shows the British consulate in East Jerusalem before the removal (top), and with the signage removed (bottom)
asserted
signage → show → bottom
Traffic barriers surround the British consulate in East Jerusalem as Israel threatens to close it
Israel is unlikely to send diplomats and their families home, instead pushing them to work from the British embassy in Tel Aviv, The Times reported.
asserted
Times → surround → Aviv
Britain has threatened to expel Israeli diplomats from London if its overseas staff are sent home.
asserted
staff → threaten → London
The consulate has been in Jerusalem for almost 200 years, long before the state of Israel was established in 1948.
asserted
state → establish → 1948
It handles UK relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, as well as in Gaza and the West Bank.
asserted
It → handle → Gaza
The United Nations and most countries consider the settlements to be illegal under international law.
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settlements → consider → law
Israel disputes this.
asserted
Israel → dispute → this
Britain's presence in the city dates back almost 200 years, long before the State of Israel was established in 1948.
asserted
State → date → 1948
The closure order does not affect Britain's embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel's government.
asserted
which → affect → government
The consulate, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, handles Britain's relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza.
asserted
consulate → handle → Bank
It also provides consular services to Palestinians.
asserted
It → provide → Palestinians
Britain's Foreign Office on Wednesday declined to comment when asked whether the consulate was still operating or any British diplomats working there had returned to the UK.
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diplomats → decline → UK
Sources have said the order to close the consulate affects around 30 British diplomats along with their family members.
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order → say → members
Britain is considering expelling Israeli diplomats from Israel's embassy in the United Kingdom in response to any closure of the consulate, according to sources.
uncertain
Britain → consider → sources
It would be a highly unusual step for the allies to expel each other's diplomats.
asserted
allies → expel → diplomats
The British sanctions announcement, and Israel's order to close the consulate, mark a new low in a relationship that has deteriorated over the past three years.
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that → close → years
Britain has repeatedly criticised Israel over its actions in the war in Gaza and over Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
asserted
Britain → criticise → Bank
Benjamin Netanyahu's government has accused Labour of being hostile towards Israel.
asserted
government → accuse → Israel
The Aporia
