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Ireland expels Israeli diplomat over forged passports

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, June 15, IRNA -- An Israeli diplomat is being expelled over the use of forged Irish passports in the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai in January, Foreign Minister Michael Martins confirmed Tuesday.

“The fact that the forged Irish passports were used by members of the same group who carried the forged British and Australian passports, leads us to the inescapable conclusion that an Israeli government agency was responsible for the misuse and, most likely, the manufacture of the forged Irish passports associated with the murder,” Martins said.

“The misuse of Irish passports by a state with, with which Ireland enjoys friendly, if sometimes frank, bilateral relations is clearly unacceptable and requires a firm response," he said in a statement obtained by IRNA.

The belated action comes three months after Britain expelled an Israeli diplomat, reportedly the London head of Mossad intelligence agency, when former foreign secretary David Miliband also demanded a pledge from Israel not to stop cloning UK passports.

Last week, Britain’s Middle East Minister Alistair Burt revealed that his government “had not yet received a formal assurance” from Israel about the demand made in March.

Martin said the expulsion had been agreed by the Irish cabinet and had been conveyed to the Israeli Embassy in Dublin “to withdraw a designated member of staff.”

He said he briefed the government on the outcome of investigations conducted by police and the Foreign Ministry about the use of 8 fake Irish passports, but had discovered no additional evidence. He said it had “yielded no response and no denial" from Israel.

“Any actions which endanger our well earned reputation in this area require determined action to ensure there is no repetition,” the minister warned.

But in accordance with normal diplomatic practice, he said he did not propose to reveal either the name or function of the official whom the Israeli government had been requested to withdraw.

The expulsion comes at a time when relations have been further soured by Israel’s killing of humanitarian aid workers in international waters and the seizure and deportation of Irish activists.

Martins said his government and the “vast majority of the Irish people disagree with certain policies pursued by the Israeli government, particularly in its relations with the occupied Palestinian territories”.

“I will not hesitate to express criticism of such policies where I believe this is warranted and where the policies in question, such as the current blockade of Gaza, are inimical to the achievement of a viable two-state solution,” he said.

In a separate statement, the Israeli embassy confirmed that its ambassador Zion Evrony was summoned to be told of the expulsion and that it “regrets this decision.”

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End News / IRNA / News Code 1179785