Jerusalem, January 09: Israel’s Foreign Ministry employees are considering a major escalation of their strike in protest against a recent series of salary cuts.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry employee committee has called on Israeli ambassadors to cut off all contact with foreign ministries and offices of prime ministers and presidents in their host countries, Ha’aretz reported on Saturday.
The indefinite move will also involve a pause in the issuance of entry visas to Israel, which would effectively prevent tourists from visiting Israel until further notice. Visitors from Canada, Russia, the United States, and Western Europe are exceptions to the inconvenience.
Israeli ambassadors across the world were informed about the measures in a cable sent to them early on Thursday.
However, to avoid any misunderstanding, the ambassadors were instructed to inform their host states about the situation, to express regret over any possible harm to bilateral diplomatic relations, and to point out that things would be back on track once their salary demands have been met.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is supposed to suffer the most under the new circumstances as Foreign Ministry employees plan to cut off cooperation with his office and to provide him with zero services.
Earlier in January, Tel Aviv was forced to cancel an official visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev scheduled for mid-January.
The employees of the Foreign Ministry had threatened to ruin the visit by not participating in preparations.
——–Agencies