JAKARTA - Israeli diplomats said they had not received an explanation, only a firm order to remove Pope Francis' condolences, regretted the move and its impact.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deleted the post on X's official account expressing sadness over Pope Francis' death.
The post was deleted hours later. A diplomatic mission around the world was ordered to remove similar posts and not sign a book of condolences at the Vatican embassy, news site Ynet reported.
Israeli diplomats were outraged by the decision and the impact it had.
"We did not receive an explanation, only a firm order to remove it," a diplomat told Ynet.
"When we asked, we were told that the matter was being reviewed. This is not satisfactory for us, and of course it does not satisfy the public we represent, Israel," he continued.
A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told the news site the post appeared "accidentally."
"We don't just say condolences, but we chose to delete them and they looked bad," another diplomat criticized.
"Very bad," he said.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the far-right coalition of religious and nationalist parties, has not commented on the Pope's death.
However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday sent a message of condolences to people in the Holy Land and around the world, describing Pope Francis as "a man of deep faith and infinite affection".
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Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88, suggested that the global community learn whether Israel's military campaign in Gaza was genocide against the Palestinian people in November last year, in some of its most clear criticisms so far of Israel's behavior in its war with Hamas which began in October 2023.
In January, the Pope also called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "embarrasing", sparking criticism from the head of the Roman Jewish camp which accused Pope Francis of having "selective anger".
Meanwhile, Israel said allegations of genocide in its campaign in Gaza were baseless, that it was only hunting down Hamas and other armed groups.
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