The uncertainty surrounding the formation of a government has completely paralyzed the workings of the Foreign Ministry and has harmed Israel’s tics with many countries, according to a report Thursday in Yediot Aharonot.
The government crisis has held up the appointment of 17 heads of legations, among them ambassadors to the United States, Canada, the United Nations and France, as well as to countries that recently restored relations with Israel.
A senior Foreign Ministry source is quoted as saying that “many countries have suspended dialogue with Israel, while waiting for a government to be formed. Agreements which were supposed to be signed with some countries have not been signed.”
Diplomatic contacts with the United States and the Soviet Union have been halted completely, Foreign Ministry sources say.
Soviet authorities are holding up discussions regarding the possibility of direct flights from Moscow to Israel in return for guarantees that the immigrants will not settle in the territories.
Foreign Minister Moshe Arens, who was scheduled to sign an agreement for the renewal of diplomatic relations with Bulgaria on Thursday, has postponed his visit there as a result of the political crisis.
One exception to the abeyance of diplomatic activity, however, was the presentation Thursday of the new Czech ambassador, Milos Pojar, to President Chaim Hcrzog. Czech President Vaclav Havel is to visit Israel next week.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
