PMO denies plans to recall Israel’s ambassador to UAE after scandal

Israel’s Ambassador to the UAE, Yossi Shalev, will be recalled to Israel after the UAE refuses to let him continue serving as ambassador, N12 reported on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister’s Office stated that it is not planning on recalling Israel’s Ambassador to the UAE, Yossi Shalev, to Israel in a statement on Tuesday evening.

This comes in response to a report by N12, which claimed that Shalev will be recalled to Israel after the UAE refused to let him continue serving as ambassador.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s associates are looking for a new role for Shalev, who is close to Netanyahu after having previously served as director-general of the PMO, the report added.

These events follow a previous N12 report that highlighted how Shalev was seen behaving “unusually, in a manner that does not align with the expected conduct for an ambassador,” at an Emirati bar on a Friday evening.

Sources familiar with the details told N12 that Shalev was at the bar with several Israelis, including women, and the issue related to “moral and personal values.”

Since the event occurred, the Emiratis have made it clear via unofficial channels that “Shalev’s behavior was unacceptable and even harmed our dignity.”

Shelley previously served as Ambassador to Brazil from 2017 to 2021, as well as the director general of the Beersheba Municipality.

Shelley replaced Amir Hayek, who served in the position when it was created on October 11, 2021.

Ambassadors typically serve in their role for three to four years and entirely at the government’s discretion, except for the Ambassador to the US, who is appointed by the PM directly.

Shelley was facing scandals at PMO when he was appointed as ambassador

The move comes amid a deepening crisis at the PMO as several employees and advisors were questioned over several different scandals emerging from the PMO in the past few weeks.

Shelley has not been implicated in the scandals but served as director-general during the period in which these scandals occurred.

The scandals range from leaking classified information to foreign newspapers to altering the times of calls received immediately after the start of October 7.

Yuval Barnea contributed to this report.