The Israeli foreign ministry said Friday it had closed its embassy in Mauritania after the government of the overwhelmingly Muslim West African nation asked the Israeli ambassador and his staff to leave, AP reported. The move came weeks after Mauritania's military junta recalled its own ambassador from Israel. In January Mauritania said it was suspending ties with Israel over its military offensive in Gaza. «Following the Mauritanian Government's decision, on January 16th 2009, to freeze diplomatic relations with Israel, and at its request, Israel will close its embassy in Nouakchott as of today,» ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement. An AP reporter in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott confirmed the embassy was closed. About 1,300 Palestinians _ at least half of them civilians _ were killed in Israel's three-week Gaza campaign against Hamas militants, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli action sparked protests through the Arab and Muslim world, including Mauritania, where tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Nouakchott in protest.
