London and Paris can’t recognise a Palestinian state while running a mission to the Palestinians in Israel’s capital. It’s a breach of the law and the Oslo Accords and Israel should shut them down if necessary
September 26, 2025 10:45
When Western nations, including the UK and France, unilaterally recognised a so-called Palestinian state this week, they did not only reward terrorism and undermine peace. They also created an immediate diplomatic and legal absurdity by continuing to operate consulates to the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
This is not just hypocrisy. It is a violation of international law, a breach of the Oslo Accords, and an affront to Israel’s sovereignty in its own capital.
The Oslo Accords, negotiated with international backing and signed as a witness by the EU – of which the UK was then a member – explicitly retained Jerusalem under Israel’s jurisdiction until a negotiated final status. No Palestinian Authority powers were permitted in the city. By extension, no foreign state was authorised to conduct official relations with the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
European officials knew this. The so-called “consulates general” in Jerusalem were tolerated only as a sui generis anomaly, bypassing Israel’s Foreign Ministry on the understanding they did not imply recognition of Palestinian statehood. But now London, Paris and other Western nations, claim to recognise “Palestine” while still insisting on keeping these missions in Israel’s capital. That turns Oslo entirely on its head.
International law is equally clear. The 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations states that consular posts require the consent of the receiving state, and their functions are limited to relations with that state. There is no such thing as a consulate in one sovereign country for the purpose of conducting relations with another.
A consulate in Jerusalem can only be accredited to Israel. To insist otherwise is not just anomalous. It is a flagrant breach of the Vienna Convention.
If the UK, France and others truly believe “Palestine” is a state, then the logical step would be to move their missions to Ramallah or Gaza. Let them tell us this new state’s capital. Let them show us its borders. But of course, they cannot, because the entire recognition is a farce and Israel, as the sovereign host, has no obligation to continue indulging it. On the contrary, under international law, Israel has every right and indeed an obligation to close down any mission on its soil that conducts relations with a third party.
The hypocrisy could not be more glaring. Imagine Israel opening a consulate in London for an independent Scotland, or in Paris for an independent Corsica. UK and France would shut them down in a heartbeat. Yet they expect Israel to tolerate precisely this in Jerusalem.
This is not just about technical diplomacy. It is about whether the rule of law applies to all, or only when convenient for European appeasement and political expediency. The UK and France cannot preach about international law to Israel while brazenly flouting the Vienna Convention and trampling on the Oslo framework they themselves endorsed and continue to champion.
Israel has already condemned these recognitions as “rewarding terrorism”, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar vowing retaliation. Closing these consulates would be entirely consistent with that stance. Countries that engage in such hostile policies and egregious violation of Israel’s sovereignty in its capital, cannot expect the Jewish state to sit idly by, as if it is “business as usual”.
Jerusalem is Israel’s eternal and undivided capital. It is home to its parliament, courts, and government. For foreign states to maintain missions there that explicitly deny Israel’s sovereignty is not only illegal. It is intolerable.
If UK and France want to recognise “Palestine,” then they must face the consequences and abide by international law. Move their consulates to the so-called Palestinian state. Or admit their recognition is nothing but a hollow gesture.
What they cannot do is run a diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital for the benefit of a different entity. That is a grotesque violation of law, logic and diplomacy alike.
If UK and France refuse, Israel not only has the right but the duty to shut these missions down. No sovereign state can permit such an assault on its authority, let alone in its own capital.
Arsen Ostrovsky is a human rights lawyer and CEO of The International Legal Forum, a global coalition of lawyers standing up for Israel in the international legal arena.
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