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Mauritania asks Israeli ambassador, staff to leave

The Israeli foreign ministry said on Friday it had closed its embassy after the government of this overwhelmingly Muslim West African nation asked the Israeli ambassador and his staff to leave.

The move came after Mauritania’s military junta recalled its own ambassador from Israel last month.

In January, Mauritania said it was suspending ties with Israel over its military offensive in Gaza.

“Following the Mauritanian government’s decision, on January 16, 2009, to freeze diplomatic relations with Israel, and at its request, Israel will close its embassy in Nouakchott as of today,” ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement.

Mauritanian authorities had asked the Israeli embassy to close within 48 hours, said a Mauritanian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.

Israeli embassy personnel were seen packing up and taking down security cameras on Friday. The Israeli ambassador declined to comment to journalists.

Mauritania is one of only three Arab League countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel, alongside Jordan and Egypt. Diplomatic relations between Mauritania and Israel were established in October 1999.

About 1,300 Palestinians — at least half of them civilians — were killed in Israel’s three-week Gaza campaign against Hamas militants, Palestinian officials said.

The Israeli action sparked protests through the Arab and Muslim world, including Mauritania, where tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Nouakchott in protest.
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