Australian opposition: Expulsion done for Arab support
Government decision to expel Israeli diplomat over forged passports affair stirs up a storm down under, as country approaches elections
Australia's decision to expel an Israeli diplomat over the use of fake Australian passports in the Dubai assassination of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has stirred up a storm in the country's political system, ahead of the nearing elections.
According to the opposition, the current government was trying to gain the support of Arab countries in the struggle it is leading over a seat on the UN Security Council.
Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop told British network Sky that there was no proof Israel was behind the passport forgery. "In the absence of proof, it would be appropriate to reprimand, appropriate to chastise the Israeli government," she told the network.
Bishop said the decision to expel a diplomat was an exaggerated and mistaken political move. "The Government is facing an election. The Government is also seeking to pursue a seat on the Security Council. The Government is keen to curry favor within the Arab community," she said.
'Israel is not the only one'
Former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Australian network ABC that it was "pretty obvious" why the government decided to expel the Israeli diplomat."The reason why Australia has suddenly become so aggressive over it is because of the Security Council campaign. In an effort to try to beat Finland and Luxemburg, the Australian Government is going out of its way to ingratiate itself to other countries in the Middle East and build up its credentials," he said.
Downer added that "Israel is not the only country that engages in this sort of behaviour, frankly. So it's a bit rich to single out Israel."
Foreign news editor of The Australian magazine, Greg Sheridan, also joined the criticism and wrote in his column that Rudd's government overreacted and made a big mistake.
According to Sheridan, the decision created friction within the government, and was even condemned by Chairman of the Foreign Committee Michael Danby.
Sheridan added that while Foreign Minister Smith justified the decision by likening it the reaction of other governments, "only the British have expelled an Israeli diplomat and that was the action of a dying Government desperately casting around for minority support.
"Australia should not ape its former masters in London in this but embrace some of the sophistication of Berlin or Paris, neither, incidentally, regarded as hives of unreasonable pro-Israel bias," he wrote, adding that "this is a very poor, very feeble decision by the Rudd Government and it will probably pay a political price for it."
Those who disagreed with Sheridan's opinion were his readers. In a survey held on The Australian's website, 204 readers backed the decision (about 58%), while 140 (40%) objected it thus far.
While addressing the parliament Monday morning, Foreign Minister Smith said the investigation into the forged passports of Nicole McCabe, Joshua Bruce, Joshua Krycer and Adam Korman, who all reside in Israel, "left the government in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of these passports."
"These are not the actions of a friend," he added, "No government can tolerate the abuse of its passports, especially by a foreign government."
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy told Ynet that Israel has received an official message from the Australian government. "We regret the Australian move, which in our opinion does not conform to the kind of relations we have with Canberra and their importance," he said.
