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Miliband addressing House of Commons
Photo: AP
Lieberman. Asked to make a pledge
Photo: Gil Yohanan

Report: UK demands public passport assurance from Israel

British Independent reports UK won't allow Israel to replace Mossad station chief in London should it not receive public pledge that British passports won't be misused again

Israel will not be allowed to replace its Mossad representative in London should it not provide Britain with a public assurance that UK citizens' passports will never be used again for secret operations, the British Independent reported Thursday.

 

According to the report, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband wants a pledge from Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. British diplomatic officials are insisting the situation is not negotiable.

 

The British newspaper emphasized that Israel's government has shown no signs so far that it will acquiesce in Miliband's demand and pledge that "the State of Israel would never be party to the misuse of British passports" in the way they were allegedly used in the assassination of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

 

The report noted that "such a declaration would be tantamount to an admission of Israel's guilt in the killing of Mabhouh."

 

During Miliband's parliament speech on Tuesday he leveled harsh criticism of Israel and said Israel's actions had put British nationals at risk and showed a "profound disregard" for Britain's sovereignty. He added that the fact that Israel is a longtime ally with close business, personal and political ties to Britain "adds insult to injury" in this case.

 

He further noted that the UK's investigation into the forging of passports didn't indicate any other country's involvement in the hit apart from Israel.

 

The British foreign secretary, nevertheless, praised Israel for maintaining democracy in a dangerous region and noted the importance of the war on terror and the struggle against the Iranian nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the UK updated its Israel travel advisory warning British citizens that their passports may be misused.

 

Keeping a low profile

Senior Israeli officials said Tuesday that the government does not wish to intensify the crisis.

They noted that Israel was surprised to learn of the British decision to expel the Mossad station chief from London, but that the government did not wish to reciprocate the move.

 

The decision was made after discussions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Lieberman.

 

Australian Foreign Minister Steven Smith said Wednesday that the British foreign secretary has offered to share its investigation report on the passport affair with Australia, but refused to say whether his country will take a similar step and expel an Israeli envoy.

 

It should be noted that France and Germany are also investigating the alleged cloning of their citizens' passports by Israel.  

 

AP contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.25.10, 08:58
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