- Title: MAURITANIA: Mauritania tells Israel embassy to leave
- Date: 7th March 2009
- Summary: NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA (MARCH 6, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF ISRAELI EMBASSY BUILDING (NO FLAG ON DISPLAY ANYMORE, NO GUARDS) PEOPLE IN FRONT OF EMBASSY MAURITANIAN SOLDIERS COMING OUT EXTERIOR OF COMMUNICATION MINISTRY (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAURITANIAN COMMUNICATION MINISTER, EL KORI OULD ABDEL MOULA, SAYING: "This measure is a freeze of diplomatic relations be
- Embargoed: 22nd March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mauritania
- Country: Mauritania
- Reuters ID: LVAAUGD1Z47SOU7EIC5DPS5VGZNZ
- Story Text: Mauritania has ordered staff at Israel's embassy to leave the country within 48 hours after freezing ties with the Jewish state over its invasion of Gaza, the Mauritanian Communication Minister said on Friday (March 6).
Diplomatic relations between Mauritania, one of only three Arab countries to have full ties with the Jewish state, have been strained since Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December.
Egypt and Jordan are the only remaining Arab states with full ties to Israel.
"This measure is a freeze of diplomatic relations between Mauritania and the Israeli state. The Mauritanian embassy in Israel has fully come back to Mauritania with all its staff and we have asked Israel to do the same thing," Communication Minister, El Kori Ould Abdel Moula told Reuters.
Moula said the decision to expel the Israeli diplomats followed the decision in January to freeze relations with the state.
"The decision to suspend relations between Mauritania and Israel, we call this a diplomatic freeze, was taken by the president of the high state council, the chief of state, when he was at the Doha summit," said the minister.
Staff were seen leaving the embassy in Nouakchott.
Abdel Aziz announced the decision to freeze relations at a summit of Arab nations in Doha, Qatar, in January. Qatar said at the time that it would freeze its own relations with Israel, which are at a lower level than full diplomatic ties.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry official who also declined to be identified said Israel had not been officially informed by Mauritania of plans to expel its ambassador.
"We don't know what is happening there exactly. We are still checking. They did not tell us they intend to expel our ambassador," he said.
He added that the timing of the decision could be linked to a planned visit to Nouakchott by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "Maybe they are just showing they're tough," the official said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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