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Britain expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai passport row

by Gag Halfrunt Tue Mar 23rd, 2010 at 03:56:36 PM EST

BBC News:

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

Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the Commons there were "compelling reasons" to believe Israel was responsible for the passport "misuse".

He said: "The government takes this matter extremely seriously. Such misuse of British passports is intolerable."

Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, said he was "disappointed".


Is this a serious worsening of UK-Israel relations or just the British government making a gesture of displeasure for public consumption?


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Britain issues Israel travel warning amid expulsion over passport row - Haaretz - Israel News
The British Foreign Office on Tuesday issued a travel advisory to citizens traveling to Israel and the Palestinian territories, just hours after it decided to expel an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged British passports used by the killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai

Citing "circumstantial evidence of Israeli involvement in the fraudulent use of British passports," the Foreign Office warned on its Web site of the "possibility that your passport details could be captured for improper uses while your passport is out of your control."

"The risk applies in particular to passports without biometric security features," the warning on the Web site said. "We recommend that you only hand your passport over to third parties including Israeli officials when absolutely necessary."


Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Mar 23rd, 2010 at 06:16:42 PM EST
This is going to do wonders for Israel's tourism industry.

The brainless should not be in banking -- Willem Buiter
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Mar 23rd, 2010 at 06:21:37 PM EST
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Couldn't have happened to a nicer buncha guys....

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.
by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Tue Mar 23rd, 2010 at 06:55:04 PM EST
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Britain expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai passport row

(The Guardian) - Britain is to expel an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged UK passports by the killers of a senior Hamas official in January.

The foreign secretary, David Miliband, will make a statement to the House of Commons this afternoon, blaming Israeli intelligence for the cloning of passports belonging to British citizens. The documents were carried by an assassination team that killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel.

British officials said Miliband would "request" the immediate departure of an Israeli diplomat, adding that they expect the request to be honoured.

"We think they mucked around with our passports, and we believe that requires consequences," an official said.

Miliband will announce the results of an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) into the abuse of British passports in the assassination, which will implicate Israel.

Diplomats stressed that the foreign secretary's remarks would be confined to the issue of passports and would not address Mabhouh's murder: "That is for the Emirati authorities," an official said.

However, the statement will be widely seen around the world as the first definitive allegation from a western government of Israeli responsibility for the murder.

FM Lieberman: Britain's public response a negative step in the war on terror

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Mar 23rd, 2010 at 06:52:09 PM EST
I had a meeting with Ron Prosor a year or so ago, our whole delegation was terrified about it.  He was a very intelligent and humourous man and knew his arguments inside and out.  It was impossible to come up with any response that he didn't immediately slap down.  

He was certainly a very strong Ambassador for Israel, but he took advantage of the fact that almost everybody would feel out of their depth with the complexity of the situation, so I never quite worked out the extent to which he acknowledged the reality of the conflicts. His argument was much - they started it and we have to defend ourselves. In between accusing the unions of boycotting Isreal.

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Wed Mar 24th, 2010 at 04:25:41 AM EST
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For all failures, blame the other side. Never express Israel's intolerance to International Law, illegal occupation and settlement building in the name of 9/11, terror and security. Very convenient. Forget about the Oslo Accords and even Bush's Road Map. Too bad, the Israeli's don't have Arafat to bat around in the ruins of Ramallah. Listen to the hog wash of the mayor of Jerusalem.

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Mar 24th, 2010 at 09:02:02 AM EST
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