Workers remove signage from British consulate in Jerusalem after Israel ordered it to close after Labour announced West Bank sanctions
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Workers removed signs and plaques at the British consulate in East Jerusalem overnight and its doors are set to close today as relations between Israel and the UK deteriorate.
Workers in the consulate were seen removing a plaque reading 'British Consulate General' and another sign for its consular section.
The British flag was still flying over the building. There was no immediate comment from the consulate.
Israel last month ordered Britain to close the consulate within 30 days and remove its diplomats from the city, after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a trade ban on goods made there.
On Tuesday, Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat accused Mr Miliband of pursuing a 'personal agenda' in his hardline against Israel.
UK officials have been scrambling to reach a deal to keep the building open but Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar last night insisted his country was holding firm.
The UK's top national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, quietly visited Israel last week in an attempt to keep the consulate open but failed to reach an agreement.
The move will see the consulate's diplomatic status removed and legally bar around 30 diplomats from operating out of the building.
A combination image shows the British consulate in East Jerusalem before the removal (top), and with the signage removed (bottom)
Traffic barriers surround the British consulate in East Jerusalem as Israel threatens to close it
Israel is unlikely to send diplomats and their families home, instead pushing them to work from the British embassy in Tel Aviv, The Times reported.
Britain has threatened to expel Israeli diplomats from London if its overseas staff are sent home.
The consulate has been in Jerusalem for almost 200 years, long before the state of Israel was established in 1948. It handles UK relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, as well as in Gaza and the West Bank.
The United Nations and most countries consider the settlements to be illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.
Britain's presence in the city dates back almost 200 years, long before the State of Israel was established in 1948.
The closure order does not affect Britain's embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles diplomatic relations with Israel's government.
The consulate, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, handles Britain's relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza. It also provides consular services to Palestinians.
Britain's Foreign Office on Wednesday declined to comment when asked whether the consulate was still operating or any British diplomats working there had returned to the UK.
Sources have said the order to close the consulate affects around 30 British diplomats along with their family members.
Britain is considering expelling Israeli diplomats from Israel's embassy in the United Kingdom in response to any closure of the consulate, according to sources.
It would be a highly unusual step for the allies to expel each other's diplomats.
Despite the current strains, the UK and Israel are close economic, security and intelligence partners.
The British sanctions announcement, and Israel's order to close the consulate, mark a new low in a relationship that has deteriorated over the past three years.
Britain has repeatedly criticised Israel over its actions in the war in Gaza and over Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Benjamin Netanyahu's government has accused Labour of being hostile towards Israel.
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