Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has refused for seven months to approve the appointment of Israel’s next ambassador to Croatia due to the “policies of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Anadolu reports.

The newspaper said Israel approved the appointment of Nissan Amdur as ambassador to Croatia in November 2025 and formally requested diplomatic approval from the Croatian presidency, “in accordance with standard procedures.”

However, Milanovic has refused to approve the appointment, leaving the process deadlocked for seven months.

According to the report, it is the first time in Croatia’s history that a president has refused to approve the appointment of an ambassador.

Israel’s current ambassador to Croatia, Gary Koren, is expected to end his term later this month and return to Israel.

Because the appointment Amdurit remains stranded, the paper said, and he will travel to Zagreb as a charge d’affaires, a position that does not require presidential approval, pending a resolution.

The Croatian president said on Monday that he ordered the suspension of all cooperation between the Croatian Armed Forces (OSRH) and the Israeli military due to what he described as Israel’s violation of international humanitarian law.

In a statement on social media, Milanovic said that “due to the unacceptable behavior of the Israeli army and the unprecedented violation of all norms of international humanitarian law”, he had already in May of last year “ordered the termination of all cooperation between the OSRH and the Israeli army”, including all members of the Croatian army.

He added that at the same time, he had called on the Croatian government “to stop any form of arms and military equipment trade with Israel”.

Milanović said that in a phone call of recent times, he directly warned Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic that “any form of military cooperation with Israel would be unacceptable”.

Source: prizrenpost