In December 2016 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israel's ambassador in New Zealand to return to Israel for consultations, in response to NZ's support for United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. Immediately after the vote, Netanyahu ordered a series of diplomatic steps against countries that co-sponsored the resolution and with whom Israel has diplomatic relations. Israel–New Zealand relations had not been so poor since 2004, when New Zealand imprisoned 'Mossad spies' for attempting to fraudulently obtain a New Zealand passport. In February 2017, Israel decided not to return its ambassador to New Zealand and downgraded its diplomatic relations with New Zealand to the level of chargés d'affaires, which is the lowest level of diplomatic relations.