This comes less than a day after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced measures against the UK, including the immediate removal of personnel from the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) headquarters in Kiryat Gat and the closure of the British Consulate in Jerusalem, expected in a few weeks, according to the report. 

A British official called Israel’s response to the sanctions “regrettable.”

“British ministers felt that a response to the situation in the West Bank was a moral and even security issue. It was impossible to do nothing regarding the situation,” KAN cited the official as saying.

The official added that the move was not intended as an attack on Israel but as a “response to extremists and violence.”

Additionally, KAN cited the official as saying that the UK sent representatives to the CMCC at the United States’ request.

“We have an admiral there who is the deputy commander of the headquarters, and his role is to advance [US President Donald] Trump’s initiative. This does not achieve anything positive,” the official said, according to the report.