Israel says the British Consulate General in Jerusalem has ceased operations, a move Britain rejects as legally invalid, saying the building will remain open as a UK mission.
The consulate is located in East Jerusalem and is Britain's main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced on Thursday that the British consulate in East Jerusalem had ended its operations on Israel's orders and that the consul general and 19 diplomats would leave the country, citing "countermeasures" following British measures against Israel.
In a statement, Sa'ar said the closure, which was first announced in September, took effect on Thursday.
The building, which remains British government property, will no longer function as a consulate, and the remaining diplomats will operate under a restricted mandate, he said.
Sa'ar said it followed a series of British measures against Israel, including sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and restrictions on defense exports.
Following talks between the two governments, Israel agreed to allow seven British diplomats to continue operating from the building, he said.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband disputed Israel's legal authority to close the consulate, saying East Jerusalem was occupied territory.
Israel effectively annexed East Jerusalem shortly after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war and considers the entire city its "indivisible capital", a claim not recognized by most of the international community.
"We have been clear that we do not accept that the Government of Israel has the legal right to close the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, which has been there for nearly 200 years," Miliband said in a statement.
He said the Consulate General building would remain open as UK Mission, Jerusalem, and continue its work with Palestinians.
Britain said it had temporarily withdrawn some staff and their families for security reasons and intended to rebuild its diplomatic presence in the coming months.
Israel says British consulate in Jerusalem closed, Britain says to keep it open as UK mission
Singapore's digital government services have changed the way residents interact with public agencies, making everything from reporting neighborhood problems to accessing essential services in a simpler way.
The system reflects decades of efforts to cut bureaucracy and connect services across agencies. But the shift towards digital services also raises questions about inclusion and public trust.
For residents like Bibi Chia, that change is tangible.
When a tree began growing into her property, she would report it through Singapore's OneService app, which handles everything from maintenance issues to community services. The National Parks Board would take over the case and send a team to trim the tree within a month. More recently, she used the same app to report birds' nests in her public housing estate. "I just took a photo and I submitted the case, and within the next couple of hours, it is now in progress and has been sent to the town council. I didn't have to identify which department I would like to send the report to. It was all digital," she said. For Bibi, OneService was a way to report a neighborhood problem. But it is just one of several digital platforms Singapore has developed to make public services more accessible. Others include Singpass, which is essentially a national digital ID, and LifeSG, which provides support at critical life events. Together, they are part of a wider effort to connect different agencies, to reduce red tapism and to help residents get things done seamlessly and efficiently. Singapore's digital push gained momentum in 2014, when former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the Smart Nation initiative. The city-state calls it a citizen-centric approach, building services around residents rather than around departments and ministries.
"Singapore is quite unique in comparison with other countries in how we push out digital services online. Fundamentally, we are small geographically as well as in terms of the complexity of our government structure. Our national government is our local government, so that simplifies things a lot. And [for] our high level of digital services among the citizens, that helps a lot," said Calvin Chan, associate professor of Singapore University of Social Sciences. The system is built in layers. Singpass allows residents to verify their identity when accessing government services. Myinfo then fills in forms using details the government already holds. These tools support platforms such as LifeSG. When parents register a child's birth, for example, they can log in using Singpass and have their personal details retrieved through Myinfo.
Behind this is GovTech, a government agency that develops the digital infrastructure for public agencies to build their own platforms. Experts say the system has been well received, reflecting a high level of trust in government. But that same trust also brings risks.
"The easiest way to scam Singaporeans is the impersonation of government officials. That's not really true elsewhere. So I think trust is now a double-edged sword. We call that the paradox of trust. So I think the government now is thinking about how can we help citizens to be more discerning," said Reuben Ng, associate professor with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Singapore's aging population presents another challenge. "I have an aunt. She's in her early 70s. She's illiterate and she doesn't have a mobile phone. When there are a lot of news campaigns that are all given out through social media, news and online media, it's not getting to this group of people. What governments here and also overseas are trying to do is to reach out to them proactively," Ng said.
Singapore's digital government services reshape how residents access public services
