Britain reduces East Jerusalem consulate staff under Israeli pressure

Britain has rebranded its consulate general in East Jerusalem as a UK mission, reducing its diplomatic presence to just seven staff members. The move comes after Israel demanded closure of the nearly 200-year-old consulate in response to UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's decision to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements and impose stricter sanctions. Both nations avoided full diplomatic confrontation, with Britain maintaining minimal operations while attempting to protect the two-state solution framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.