Britain expels Israeli diplomat, issues travel warning over identity theft

[Poll_Blind]

BBC:Britain expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai passport row

The UK is to expel an Israeli diplomat over 12 forged British passports used in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January. David Miliband said there were "compelling reasons" to believe Israel was responsible for the forgeries. The foreign secretary said the misuse of British passports was "intolerable".

--snip--

It had concluded the passports used were copied from genuine British passports when handed over for inspection to individuals linked to Israel, either in Israel or in other countries, he said.

"Given that this was a very sophisticated operation, in which high-quality forgeries were made, the government judges it is highly likely that the forgeries were made by a state intelligence service," he said. "We have concluded that there are compelling reasons to believe Israel was responsible for the misuse of the British passports."

The incident "represents a profound disregard for the sovereignty of the United Kingdom" he said.

The article is quite extensive. The FM also issued an alert to British citizens traveling through Israel to "make British nationals aware of the risks of their passports being misused."

Several Israeli MK's have already responded to the expulsion by branding the British government disloyal dogs. Yes, they went there.

This is by no means the first time that Israel has been accused of using identity theft and/or forging other countries' passports in order to conceal the nationalities and identities of clandestine operatives abroad.

From Reuters:

1984: -- Israel's relations with Britain suffered a blow after it was discovered that an Israeli agent had accidentally left a batch of forged British passports in a telephone booth in West Germany.

1987: -- Britain protested to Israel about what London called the misuse by "Israeli authorities" of forged British passports, and said it received assurances there would be no recurrence.

2010: -- Britain expels Israeli diplomat over the use of forged British passports by suspected killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai.

Also, in 2004 two Israelis suspected of being Mossad were tried, convicted, jailed and eventually expelled after trying to falsely obtain a New Zealand passport in the name of a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy sufferer. A third Israeli, also suspected of being a Mossad agent, fled the country before being apprehended. The New Zealand government officially rejected the apology from Israel.

The list is by no means comprehensive and you can find references to suspected/admitted Israeli government agents using forged passports for clandestine operations, including killings, from Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand & Ireland at least.

In a post-9/11 world governments tend to frown on other governments forging their passports, especially when assassinations or other criminal behavior is the goal.

PB

[Scurrilous]

1. (Avigdor) Lieberman 'regrets' U.K. decision to expel Israeli diplomat

<snip>

"Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday said Israel "regretted" Britain's decision to expel an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged British passports by suspected killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai.

"We attribute great importance to our relations with Britain," Lieberman said in a statement from Brussels, where he was meeting with senior European Union officials.

"We hold a number of different and sensitive dialogues with them, and regret the British decision," Lieberman added. "We have never been given proof that Israel was involved in this affair."

Officials in Jerusalem expressed disappointed with Britain's public response to the matter, with some saying off the record that they saw it as a negative step in the war on terror.

The assumption in Jerusalem is that the matter will pass in a few days as both Israel and Britain want to continue the strategic dialogue between the two nations."

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