"Due to the Ministry of Finance decision to violate agreements that were endorsed by the Ministry of Finance Director General and signed on 21 July 2019 and to enforce unilateral procedures on representatives abroad that change practices that have been in effect for decades, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is compelled to close all Israeli diplomatic missions abroad. No services will be provided to the public and entrance to the missions will not be permitted", the statement said.
According to the diplomatic mission, the Finance Ministry leaves no other option but to close the diplomatic missions. The press service also expressed hope for a quick resolution to the crisis.
The strike comes in response to the Finance Ministry's move to impose a tax on diplomats' expenses that are not supported by receipts.
Israel is facing the possibility of a third early election following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to form a government, as his more centrist rival, Blue and White alliance chairman Benny Gantz, has received the same task with a similar mission within the same four-week deadline.
Netanyahu has handed back the mandate to form a government to President Reuven Rivlin after he failed to form a majority coalition within a 28-day deadline, granted to him after the September general election — the situation resembling the April deadlock when no political camp secured a majority.