Saar accuses Miliband of ‘outrageous lies’ in response
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar announced on September 8 that Israel will close the United Kingdom’s consulate in Jerusalem and bar twelve British citizens from entering the country, in retaliation for UK sanctions imposed on West Bank settlements. The Guardian reported the announcement in its UK politics live blog.
Saar said the UK would no longer be allowed to participate in the US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel. He also said Britain can no longer train Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank under the program known as the “British Support Team in Ramallah.”
In remarks accompanying the announcement, Saar accused Ed Miliband of “outrageous lies” and said the UK government was “systematically working against the state of Israel.”
The Guardian’s live coverage originally reported ten Britons would be banned from entering Israel, then updated the figure to twelve in a 4:13pm update to its live blog.