UK threatens to expel Israeli diplomats over East Jerusalem consulate closure

Israel plans to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem after the UK banned trade in goods from West Bank settlements. London has reportedly threatened to expel one Israeli diplomat for each British diplomat forced out, potentially up to 27, though the Foreign Office has not confirmed this. The dispute turns on who holds authority in Jerusalem, a city whose status Scripture places at the centre of the nations' final confrontation (Zechariah 12:3), and it shows Western allies' patience with Israel eroding.