Israel ordered Britain's Jerusalem consulate shut over the settlement trade ban. Will Israel order France's closed too by Sept 17?

On September 9, 2026, Israel ordered Britain to close its East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days, retaliating after the United Kingdom, France and Canada announced bans on imports from Israeli West Bank settlements. Israel's foreign ministry also barred 12 British nationals from entry and ended British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. Despite France joining the same settlement trade ban, Israel did not extend a closure order to France's Jerusalem consulate by September 17. French officials had previously warned that closing France's consulate would draw a "strong response," and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had at times floated the idea in connection with President Emmanuel Macron's push to recognize a Palestinian state, but no formal order against France materialized in this window. Israel's retaliation instead concentrated on Britain, which it treated as the lead actor in organizing the wider sanctions push involving a dozen countries. The community had priced this at 59% likely to resolve yes, expecting Israel to widen its response to France as officials had periodically signaled; the narrower, Britain-only action left that majority prediction wrong. The dispute remains part of a broader rift between Israel and Western governments over settlement policy, import bans and recognition of Palestinian statehood.