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NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritania has called back its ambassador to Israel for consultations, Mauritanian government sources said yesterday. Protesters took to the streets of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott last week to demand that the Islamic country sever diplomatic ties with Israel after the Jewish state launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip. "We have recalled our ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations," said a foreign ministry source who declined to be named, adding that the diplomat was on his way home. The northwest African state is one of only three Arab countries to have diplomatic relations with Israel, along with Egypt and Jordan. Another source close to Mauritania's ruling military junta said Mauritania condemned the Israeli military action. "Our position as regards cutting diplomatic ties with Israel will depend on how things move on the ground, on the military situation, and on the possibility of appeasement in the Gaza Strip," he said. The amb...