The British Foreign Ministry began an urgent evacuation of its staff from Tel Aviv to other, considered safer areas of Israel. The decision concerns both embassy staff and consular staff and diplomatic families.
This movement is a direct reaction to the rapidly rising tensions around the Iranian nuclear program. After the fiasco of the third round of negotiations in Geneva (February 26) and the lack of progress in technical talks scheduled for next week in Vienna, London assessed the risk of attacking Israel as "very high". In recent hours, there have also been unofficial reports of similar steps taken by several other European countries.
The decision of the United Kingdom is only a few hours after the recommendation of the U.S. State Department to prepare for immediate departure. Experts point out that the weekend can be particularly dangerous – additional security measures have already been put in place in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and Israeli armed forces remain on high alert.
Evacuation is partial and temporary – part of the key staff will remain in the country, but in changed locations. The British MFA stressed that this step is purely preventive and does not mean a change in policy towards Israel.
