• Military
• WMD

• Intelligence Menu               

• Systems
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Imagery
• Links

• Homeland Security
• Space

Israel still not pledged to stop cloning UK passports

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, June 11, IRNA -- The British government has admitted that is still awaiting a pledge from Israel never to again clone passports that were used in Mossad’s assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai back in January.

“We have not yet received a formal assurance from the Government of Israel on this matter,” Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said after being asked about the demand made nearly three months ago.

“We will continue to discuss these issues with the Israeli Government: we will not tolerate the misuse of British passports,” Burt told MPs in a written parliamentary answer published on Friday.

The demand for a pledge was made by former foreign secretary David Miliband in March after he said “compelling evidence” had been found that Israel’s intelligence agency had cloned British passports following Mossad’s assassination.

“The fact that that was done by a country that is a friend, with significant diplomatic, cultural, business and personal ties to the UK, only adds insult to injury. No country or Government could stand by in such a situation,” Miliband said.

Britons travelling to Israel were also warned by the Foreign Office not to hand their passports over to Israeli officials unless it is absolutely necessary.

The demand was made following the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat, believed to be Mossad’s London chief and has been linked as a precondition for any replacement.

Reports in Israel last month claimed that Britain’s Labour government was refusing to accept a replacement diplomat until it received a written commitment not to misuse UK passports.

Yediot daily said that Israel had avoided signing such a commitment, “probably because it would be interpreted as a confession that Israel did misuse British passports in the Dubai operation” and hinted it was waiting for a change of government in the UK.

It reported that if the Conservatives form the next government as happened “an improvement in bilateral relations is expected and perhaps the rehabilitation of the intelligence ties between the two countries.”