Iran Press/Middle East: The Israeli Foreign and Defense ministries have united in a long-simmering dispute with treasury over bid to retroactively cut envoys’ expense stipends. The dispute means no consular services are currently offered to Israelis living abroad.
The move, coordinated by the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Histadrut Labor Federation, comes after the treasury reportedly backtracked on previous understandings and said it would force the envoys to pay back thousands of dollars that they had been reimbursed for expenses, The Times of Israel reported.
The dispute is over expense stipends paid to Israeli diplomats and Defense Ministry envoys stationed abroad that are meant to cover a wide array of expenses, from hosting events at an ambassador’s residence to transport costs.101/211/219
