"Expelling and closing a consulate"... How did Israel respond to the British sanctions?

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, described the British sanctions targeting Israeli settlements as an “absurd political decision” and a “morally corrupt step,” and accused the British government of interfering in the upcoming Israeli elections. Sa'ar said on Tuesday that Israel would respond by closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem, expelling British representatives from the center responsible for managing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire plan, ending the activities of the British Support Team (BST), a small unit of British military personnel based in Ramallah, which provides support to the security forces of the Palestinian Authority, and denying the entry of 11 British representatives and lawyers.

The United Kingdom announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and said that France and Canada would announce similar sanctions later Tuesday, in a coordinated move that confirms Israel's increasing isolation on the international stage. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said earlier Tuesday that imposing sanctions would be "a grave error in judgment and a choice on the wrong side of history."

During an event marking three decades of relations with the European Union in the fields of research and innovation, Herzog stated: “Sanctions are not a solution, dialogue is the solution.” While announcing the sanctions in the British Parliament, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband strongly condemned Israel's practices in the West Bank, saying that "terrorist settlers" had committed "ethnic cleansing" against the Palestinians there, describing these measures as a reset of relations between the two countries.

The UK's announcement was accompanied by a joint letter from 11 Western countries announcing that they would impose similar restrictions on trade with settlements illegal under international law, or that they would work to support European restrictions. This issue was raised during a phone call between British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and US President Donald Trump, on Monday, according to a source familiar with the call.

This joint announcement could lead to a reaction from the Trump administration. Israel and the United States - its most important ally - had threatened to retaliate against Britain because of this step.

The pace of settlement construction has accelerated under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government, which has made settlement expansion a top priority. Miliband, who said he was announcing the measures "as a proud Jew", said Britain could no longer be content with "condemning" injustice and suffering.