Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced Tuesday that Israel will close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, effective immediately, as retaliation for sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom, France, and Canada on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Sa'ar stated that the British move constitutes "morally distorted" interference in Israel's sovereign affairs and its electoral process ahead of national elections scheduled for late October. He said the decision was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In addition to the consulate closure, Britain will be removed from participation in a U.S.-led coordination mission for Gaza. British training programs for Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank will end, and entry bans will apply to a number of British elected officials and nationals accused of antisemitic or anti-Israel activity.

The consulate, located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, has long been accredited to the Palestinian Authority rather than to Israel. Israel maintains that Jerusalem is its undivided capital and rejects foreign diplomatic activities that challenge its sovereignty there.

The UK sanctions target goods produced in West Bank settlements, which Britain and other European nations consider illegal under international law. Israeli officials have described the measures as largely symbolic given the limited volume of such exports.

The announcement escalates diplomatic tensions between Israel and the UK government under Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who has publicly condemned settler violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank.