Meir Dagan. Should he go home?
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Falsified passports. 'Appaling'
Photo: AFP
British journalist: Israel must fire Mossad chief
News editor at British paper says he's 'appalled' that Israel violated Britain's trust
The executive foreign editor at British newspaper Daily Telegraph Con Coughlin published a strident article Tuesday calling Israel to fire Mossad chief Meir Dagan for destroying the close intelligence relationship between Israel and Britain.
"The Foreign Office’s decision to expel an Israeli diplomat - believed to be Mossad’s London station chief – is a disaster for Anglo-Israeli relations and the close intelligence-sharing arrangement that up to now has existed between the two countries," Coughlin wrote.
"And the blame for this sorry state of affairs lies squarely with the Jewish state."
Coughlin made it clear that the assassination of al-Mabhouh was not the offensive move, but Israel's betrayal of British trust.
"I know some of Israel’s unwavering supporters believe the British government is guilty of over-reacting...And I certainly have no regrets about the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh...But I also think the Israelis have behaved appallingly in the cavalier way they abused the passports of a friendly country to carry out the murder," the Telegraph editor asserted.
Coughlin set his sights at the Mossad, arguing that its chief did not properly consider the possible ramifications of Israel's actions. "There are many Israelis who believe that Meir Dagan, the head of Israel’s Mossad overseas intelligence service, is getting a little too big for his boots, and launches his hit squads without giving serious consideration to the likely consequences of their action," Coughlin wrote.
The article was published before Foreign Minister David Milliband spoke to the British parliament, formally accusing Israel of forging British passports for use in the Dubai hit and asking an Israeli diplomat to leave the country. The Telegraph reported earlier Tuesday that the said diplomat apparently is the Mossad's London representative.
Milliband noted that while the war on terror is important, it must be conducted with transparency.
