In addition, the Foreign Ministry also demanded retroactive refunds worth thousands of shekels from ambassadors who cannot provide receipts for their expenses, Ynet reported.These cutbacks were part of efforts by the Finance Ministry to slash government budgets to make up for the already steep deficit. Earlier in September, the ministry had already froze Foreign Ministry expenditures abroad.
Had the strike gone through, it would have shut down all consular services both in Israel and abroad, as well as closing all boarder crossings between Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.