Israel to close British consulate in East Jerusalem

This means the trade bans are largely symbolic and will not dent larger bilateral trade flows, but are part of wider efforts to reinforce support for the two-state solution, just as Israel announced plans for 1,000 new ​West Bank homes on Tuesday.

Israel said on ​Tuesday it was closing Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem in response to plans by the UK, France and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The focus of recent concerns is Israel’s E1 settlement project in the West Bank not far from Jerusalem, which would ​cut across land the Palestinians seek for a future independent state.