Israel's diplomats called an out-all strike over a long-running pay and conditions dispute on Sunday, shutting the country's 103 foreign embassies and jeopardising a forthcoming visit by the pope.
The foreign ministry employees union said it was ordering its 1,200 members to stop work indefinitely from 3pm (1pm GMT) after accusing the finance ministry of failing to take the diplomats' grievances seriously following nearly a year of haggling.
It is the Israeli diplomatic service's first total shutdown since Israel was established in 1948 and threatens to bring the country's diplomacy to a halt after it was already curtailed by more limited industrial action that took effect earlier this month.
Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, condemned the strike as irresponsible" and "a wretched decision and a display of a loss of control on union 's part".
One immediate effect will be to prevent Mr Lieberman, noted more for his confrontational approach than his diplomatic tact, from going to work after the foreign ministry headquarters in Jerusalem - just a few hundreds from the Knesset, Israel's parliament - also shut its doors.
Yigal Palmor, the foreign ministry spokesman - departing from his customary role of defending his country's official positions on the global stage - accused the government of refusing to negotiate seriously.
"The treasury have shown us nothing but indifference and disdain and have left us with no strike but to go on indefinite strike," he said. "We have to at least get their attention. They seem only to give us the cold-shoulder and give the impression that they can't be bothered. As long as there is no negotiations, there will be no diplomatic service."
The diplomats are demanding an increase in monthly salaries, said to range between ￡1,049 to ￡1,570 a month, and compensation for their spouses loss of earnings for having to give up work when posted abroad.
An extended strike has the potential to cripple Israeli diplomacy since the foreign ministry is responsible for organising visits of incoming foreign dignitaries, as well as Israeli ministers' trips abroad.
It could force the Vatican to call off a two-day visit by Pope Francis to the Holy Land, scheduled for May 24 and 25. A Vatican advance team has already postponed a visit intended to finalise arrangements for the the pontiff's arrival.
Even the limited foreign ministry sanctions in place since March 5 forced Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to cancel a "historic" visit to Latin America last week after diplomats refused to take the necessary measures.
Matthew Gould, the British ambassador to Tel Aviv, was publicly rebuked by the foreign ministry union this month for failing to urge David Cameron to postpone his trip until the dispute had been settled. The union accused Mr Gould of a lack of solidarity by cooperating with alternative arrangements made by the Israeli government to ensure Mr Cameron's visit went ahead.
周日，由于薪酬及工作条件长期令人不满意，以色列外交官们进行了彻底罢工，导致全国103个外国使馆关闭，也影响了即将到访的教宗行程。
外交部工会表示，在财政部拒绝认真对待外交官们的要求近一年之后，工会已指示1200名成员从下午3时（北京时间下午1时）开始无限期停工。
这是自以色列1948年成立以来在外交服务上的第一次全面停工，该国的外交活动本就受到月初开始的罢工行动的不良影响，这次罢工更是使其外交活动出现停摆。
以色列外长阿维格多·利伯曼谴责罢工是不负责任“也是”一个错误的决策，认为那同时也说明了工会对罢工情况已经失去了控制 。
利伯曼先生采取了激烈的应对方法而不是巧妙性地解决这件事，这种做法的明显后果就是使设在耶路撒冷的外交部总部—— 距以色列议会短短数百米——也停止了运转，利伯曼也被迫停止工作了。
外交部发言人伊加•帕尔默——从他一惯在全球舞台上扮演的捍卫国家的角色中脱离出来——控告政府拒绝认真谈判的行径。
“财政部对我们只有冷漠和不屑，这让我们别无选择，只能进行无限期的罢工， ”他说， “我们至少必须获得他们的注意，现在他们似乎对我们漠不关心，似乎他们是惹不起的。只要没有谈判，我们就不会再提供外交服务。 ”
外交官们都要求增加月薪，说应该涨到每月1049英镑到1570英镑，并应就外交官伴侣因出国而被迫放弃工作所产生的损失进行赔偿。
因为外交部负责外国政要入境及以色列部长访外的工作，所以长时间的罢工可能会危害以色列的外交政策。
这可能会迫使梵蒂冈取消定于5月24和25日的教皇弗朗西斯拜访圣地的安排。梵蒂冈先遣队为了教皇拜访的事宜已经推迟过访问时间了。
自3月5日以来，外交官们的罢工迫使以色列总理内塔尼亚胡于上周取消了对拉丁美洲的“历史性”访问。
英国驻以色列大使马修·古尔德因未能敦促卡梅伦推迟行程而受到了外交部工会的持续公开斥责，直到该问题得到解决。因古尔德先生配合以色列政府为卡梅伦顺利到访所做出的调整，工会因此指责他缺乏团结性。
