Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced that the British consulate in East Jerusalem ended its functions on Thursday, with 20 diplomats, including the consul general, completing their assignments and leaving the country.
Saar said the building remained the property of the British government. However, a limited team of seven diplomats would be permitted to continue operating from the premises under a revised arrangement.
He described the remaining team as a “task force of only seven diplomats”, adding that the site had ceased functioning as a consulate.
Under a last-minute agreement reached on Wednesday night, Britain will rename the diplomatic facility the “UK Mission, Jerusalem”.
The consulate was established in 1839 and had served as Britain’s diplomatic presence in East Jerusalem.
