NewzUK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell held talks with Israeli officials but failed to reach an agreement to keep the consulate open, Reuters cited sources as saying. Tit-for-tat expulsions expected after relations deteriorate as a result of UK ban on goods from illegal settlementsThe UK has threatened to expel one Israeli diplomat for every British diplomat forced to leave Israel as a result of Israel’s decision to close the UK consulate in East Jerusalem later this week.This could means as many as 27 Israeli diplomats being expelled from the UK, a step that would arguably mark the lowest point in British-Israeli diplomatic relations since the formation of the state of Israel.
Summary from source