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Israel announces closure of UK consulate in Jerusalem in response to sanctions over West Bank settlements
Israeli foreign minister also said that Britain would no longer be allowed to participate in the US-led coordination mission for Gaza.
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Israel announced on Tuesday that it will close the United Kingdom consulate in Jerusalem in response to sanctions over West Bank settlements in retaliation for London leading Western sanctions over violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in West Bank.
"The accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies," said Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said.
"The British move is morally distorted and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process," Saar said.
This comes over a month ahead of October 27 elections in Israel in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is campaigning on his support for settlements in the West Bank.
Saar announced that Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem will be closed, which is accredited to the Palestinian Authority in West Bank.
Apart from closure of the UK consulate, Israeli foreign minister also said that now, Britain would no longer be allowed to participate in the US-led coordination mission for Gaza. He also announced that 12 British officials will be barred from entering Israel.
What UK foreign secretary said
UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband had accused Israeli “settler terrorists” of "ethnic cleansing" in West Bank. He also said that the UK government would officially recognise Israel’s occupation of the West Bank as unlawful in its entirety, calling the move “the least the people who face such suffering deserve” and saying it should “be the prelude to justice.”
Among the sanctions announced by the UK against Israel were ban on imports of all goods from the West Bank settlements and restricting firms from providing services there.
“I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets," Miliband said.
He added that he feels “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community.”
“We will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution,” he said.
US says no to sanctions on Israel
United States' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that they will not follow UK to impose sanctions on Israel over settlements in the Palestinian territory.
Rubio added that the US does not want to see anything destabilizing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
(With inputs from wires)
