British supporters of Israel have written to the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to act to end the Foreign Ministry strike.

Israel’s diplomats are locked in a year-long dispute over pay and conditions, closing embassies and consular services across the world as a result.

The letter, signed by a dozen organisations and individuals, suggested the strike was damaging the country’s reputation abroad.

“The tireless work of Israel’s diplomats is absolutely crucial to protecting and advancing the cause of Israel,” it states.

The signatories included Liberal Democrat peer Lord Palmer, Wizo UK, the Zionist Federation, Habonim Dror UK and Manchester’s Zionist Central Council.

There were long queues outside the Israeli embassy in London last Thursday when consular services were briefly re-opened to ease the logjam of cases.