Prime Minister Helen Clark
צילום: רויטרס
Israel, New Zealand set to renew ties
Israeli ambassador to Canberra set to present credentials Tuesday, after diplomatic relations severed due to spy scandal
Israel and New Zealand are to restore full diplomatic ties Tuesday, closing a damaging row sparked by the arrest of two alleged Mossad agents, officials said Monday.
Ties were severed by New Zealand in 2004 after the agents were arrested by police, convicted and imprisoned for fraudulently obtaining a New Zealand passport.
Israeli's ambassador to Canberra Naftali Tamir will reopen formal diplomatic links between the two nations when he presents his credentials to New Zealand Governor General Dame Silvia Cartwright Tuesday.
In addition, Tamir paid a brief courtesy visit to New Zealand's Foreign Minister Phil Goff Monday, when both men emphasized they were pleased that the bilateral relationship was back on track.
Foreign Ministry official Michael Ronen told Ynet, "Israel has attributed great importance to renewing ties with New Zealand. It is a country active in international groups and organizations. There is no doubt that a new page has been opened."
Israel apologizes
Uri Zoshe Kelman, 31, and Eli Cara, 50, were arrested in March 2004 and sentenced to six months for allegedly working on behalf of Israel's intelligence Agency, the Mossad. The two were later released and deported after serving about two months.
As a result, New Zealand suspended all high-level diplomatic contact with Israel, and sought an explanation and apology.
New Zealand demanded - and won - an apology from Israel for the men’s action, which Prime Minister Helen Clark said proved the pair were Israeli spies.
"It is an acknowledgment that these people were associated with Israeli intelligence agencies. That’s always been our belief,” She said in late June, after the apology was made by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
In a letter to his New Zealand counterpart, Shalom apologized for the involvement of Israeli citizens in criminal activities and vowed to take steps to ensure it didn’t happen again.
New Zealand police are still seeking two other men involved in the passport fraud.
One man, Ze’ev William Barkan, escaped arrest by fleeing the country shortly before Cara and Kelman were picked up by police.
A fourth man, New Zealand national Tony Resnick, who abruptly left the country when police uncovered the passport fraud, also “remains a person of interest to our investigation,” Police Assistant Commissioner Jon White said.
A warrant for Resnick’s arrest has been issued and Interpol alerted, with New Zealand authorities confirming he is hiding in Israel.
