Israeli Envoy Expelled on Identity Theft

The Australian government decision was the top story in most Israeli media last night.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith

(TEL AVIV) - AN ISRAELI diplomat will be expelled by week's end, and intelligence-sharing between ASIO and Mossad halted, after an investigation found Israel forged four Australian passports for use in a Dubai assassination.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Parliament the government had been left ''in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of these passports''.

Israel Army Radio reported it had ''confirmed that the official who will be expelled is the Mossad representative in Canberra'', referring to Israel's spy agency.

Israel's Canberra embassy was reeling yesterday. Caught by surprise by the expulsion, Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem was last night returning from Israel.

The investigation by the Australian Federal Police, ASIO and ASIS into the use of Australian passports in the murder of Hamas figure Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in January involved the director-general of ASIO travelling to Israel this month.

Mr Smith said he received final advice last week that the nature of the fraud and high quality of the counterfeiting indicated it could only have been done by a state intelligence agency.

Australia and Israel were firm friends, Mr Smith said, but ''this was not the act of a friend'', and it was not the first time Australian passports had been misused by Israel.

The four Australians whose identities had been hijacked - Adam Korman, Joshua Bruce, Nicole McCabe and Joshua Krycer - were innocent victims, he said.

The federal Coalition has attacked the expulsion, with opposition foreign spokeswoman Julie Bishop saying ''there is no absolute proof'' that Israel forged the passports.

A security staffer takes a suitcase from the Israeli Embassy of Israel in Canberra. Photo: Stefan Postles

Lobby groups including the Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Council and Executive Council of Australian Jewry also criticised the government's ''punitive action'' against Israel. ''This was an overreaction and unhelpful,'' said AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein.

Labor member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby, a staunch supporter of Israel, said he did not agree with his government's decision. ''Neither France, Germany or Ireland have asked for an Israeli diplomat to be withdrawn as a result of the Dubai affair,'' he said.

Mr Smith said the decision was taken ''more in sorrow than in anger or retaliation'', and the incident would not change Australia's policy approach to Israel in United Nations General Assembly resolutions on the Middle East. Intelligence co-operation, however, would undergo a ''cooling-off''.

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: ''We regret the Australian government's decision, a decision which is not in line with the quality and importance of our relationship.''

The first the Israeli government learnt of the expulsion was when a Canberra-based diplomat was summoned by the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday morning and notified of the decision.

The British government expelled the Mossad station chief in London in March after its own investigation blamed Israel for the passport forgeries.

The Australian government decision was the top story in most Israeli media last night.

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Source: watoday.com.au