Video: U.K Foreign Secretary statement on Israel passports scandal

محروم.كوم · #1 03-25-2010, 09:40 PM

Foreign Secretary statement on Israel passports scandal

The UK is to expel an Israeli diplomat over 12 forged British passports used in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January

David Miliband said there were "compelling reasons" to believe Israel was responsible for the forgeries

The foreign secretary said the misuse of British passports was "intolerable

Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, said he was "disappointed", but Israel confirmed there would be no tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion

Mr Prosor said: "The relationship between Israel and the UK is of mutual importance, hence we are disappointed by the... decision

The name of the diplomat has not been released

Israel has previously said there is no proof it was behind the killing at a Dubai hotel

High-quality forgeries

The foreign secretary said officers from Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) had investigated the matter of the passports

It had concluded the passports used were copied from genuine British passports when handed over for inspection to individuals linked to Israel, either in Israel or in other countries, he said

"Given that this was a very sophisticated operation, in which high-quality forgeries were made, the government judges it is highly likely that the forgeries were made by a state intelligence service," he said

"We have concluded that there are compelling reasons to believe Israel was responsible for the misuse of the British passports

The incident "represents a profound disregard for the sovereignty of the United Kingdom" he said

He said the fact that Israel was a friend added "insult to injury

The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said the expulsion sent a "very clear message" of British disapproval

"It is a very big step for a government like the British to expel one of the diplomats belonging to one of its important allies," he said

It is believed 12 fake British passports were used in the plot to murder Mr Mabhouh - the founder of Hamas's military wing - in his hotel room in Dubai on 19 January

The names and details on the UK passports used by eight of the 12 suspects belonged to British-Israeli citizens living in Israel - all of whom have denied involvement in Mr Mabhouh's murder

Their passports had been copied and new photographs inserted
Mr Miliband said there was no evidence to suggest that any of the 12 passport holders were anything other than "wholly innocent victims of identity theft

He said he was amending the official travel advice to Israel to make British nationals aware of the risks of their passports being misused

He said he had met Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman in Brussels on Monday and had made clear the UK's "determination to see that this affair should never be repeated

He handed him a letter "seeking a formal assurance... that in the future the State of Israel would never be party to the misuse of British passports in such a way

It is not the first time British passports have been misused by Israel. In 1987 the country was caught forging UK passports for an intelligence operation, and Israel promised it would not do it again

On that occasion, eight British passports reckoned to be for Mossad agents were found in a bag in a West German telephone booth

A spokesman for the Palestinian Hamas group said it welcomed the decision to expel the diplomat, but wanted international efforts to track down the killers stepped up

Dubai police have used CCTV footage to identify 27 alleged members of the team that tracked and killed Mr Mabhouh

Passports from France, Ireland, Germany and Australia were also forged in the operation, and they too are investigating Israel's role

Dubai officials said they were "99% certain" that agents from Mossad were behind the killing

Following his death, Mr Mabhouh's family said doctors who had examined him determined he had died after receiving a massive electric shock to the head. They also found evidence that he had been strangled

Blood samples sent to a French laboratory confirmed he was killed by electric shock, after which the body was sent to Syria

March 23, 2010
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