Israeli Diplomacy Flounders as Annexation Approaches

Israeli diplomats abroad, as well as foreign diplomats currently posted in Israel, have complained about the lack of direction from Yerushalayim regarding the planned implementation of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan.

Foreign diplomats have told Yisrael Hayom that the countries they represent are interested in whether or not Israel’s decision to apply sovereignty to Jewish communities in Yehudah, Shomron and the Jordan Valley will proceed as planned, on July 1. Various foreign ministers have been asking their Israeli envoys as well as their diplomats stationed in Israel for details about the plan, the likelihood that it will be implemented, and its possible ramifications.

“Until the new government was formed, we were able to say it was a theoretical issue and we needed to wait and see what the new government’s policy would be,” a number of Israeli diplomats said.

“But now that the government has been formed, the policy still isn’t clear. There seems to be a lot of buzz regarding the matter in Israel, but no one has yet explained to us what is going to happen and what we are supposed to say,” they noted.

The Israeli officials stressed that without any clear directives from the Foreign Ministry in Yerushalayim, the discussions about the planned move in the countries where they represent Israel is being controlled by the Palestinians and their sympathizers.

Envoys of foreign governments in Israel are also dissatisfied with the lack of any information from the government and say they are learning details of the plan mostly from the Israeli media. Some have noted that they would like to be able to stand up for the policy, but are not being given the information or tools to do so.

The Foreign Ministry issued a response to the claims raised by diplomatic officials, saying, “The matter is being worked on intensely by the Foreign Ministry. When the work is complete and recommendations are in place, instructions will be given to Israeli embassies and consulates throughout the world.”