26/02/2010 Israel's Mossad has regularly faked Australian passports for its spies, an ex-agent said on Thursday, as anger grew over the use of foreign travel documents for an alleged assassination.
Former case officer Victor Ostrovsky told ABC public radio that the spy agency had used Australian passports for previous operations before last month's hit on a top Hamas commander.
He said agents had little trouble passing themselves off as Australians as few people in the Middle East have much knowledge about the country. "Consider the fact that Australians speak English and it's an easy cover to take, very few people know very much about Australia," he said.
"You can tell whatever stories you want. It doesn't take much of an accent to be an Australian or New Zealander, or an Englishman for that matter. And I know people had been under Australian cover not once (but) quite a few times. So why not use it (again)?"
Australian officials summoned the Israeli ambassador and warned the countries' friendly ties were at risk after Dubai police named three Australian passport-holders in a list of new suspects in murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
Britain, Ireland, France and Germany expressed similar outrage after people holding documents from their countries were also linked to the January 20 killing in a luxury Dubai hotel.
Israel has previously dismissed claims from Ostrovsky, who is now an author and has detailed various accusations against the country in his books.
He said Mossad prefers to use "false flag" passports as Israeli papers frequently invoke suspicion in the Middle East. "They need passports because you can't go around with an Israeli passport, not even a forged one, and get away or get involved with people from the Arab world," he said.
"So most of these (Mossad) operations are carried out on what's called false flag, which means you pretend to be of another country which is less belligerent to those countries that you're trying to recruit from."
The Australian newspaper said Ali Kazak, a former Palestinian representative to Australia, had warned in 2004 that a Mossad agent in Sydney had obtained 25 false Australian passports.
In March 2004, two suspected Mossad agents were arrested in New Zealand and later convicted for fraudulently trying to obtain passports from the country, prompting diplomatic sanctions.
“INTERNATIONAL POLICE FORCE TO HUNT AL-MABHOUH KILLERS”
Meanwhile, Dubai's police chief said in comments published on Friday that international police unit with officers from the Emirates and at least seven other countries will hunt for the killers of al-Mabhouh.
The Al-Bayan daily quoted Dhahi Khalfan as saying that officers from the United Arab Emirates, unspecified European countries, Australia and perhaps the United States, would be part of the unit.
He said that some of his officers had already travelled to several "European countries concerned" with the investigation, the government-owned daily reported.
Khalfan did not name the countries, but the murder of al-Mabhouh has mounted international pressure on Israel after Dubai said that Israeli agents, most using stolen identities, had carried out the Cold War-style hit. "We will work via European and Australian diplomatic channels - and perhaps American - to set up a working team formed from the Emirates police force and those of at least seven other states to track down the gang responsible for the assassination," the newspaper quoted Khalfan as saying.
Dubai police have published details of 26 suspects together with passport photographs. Twelve British, six Irish, four French, one German and three Australian passports were used by the suspects, according to Dubai police.
The international police organization, Interpol, has circulated warrants for the arrest of 11 suspects, after Dubai released their names and passport details. Dubai later said it had 15 other suspects, and Khalfan said warrants for their arrest would be circulated through Interpol next week.
The revelation of stolen identities being used by suspected Israeli agents has caused an outcry, with Australia threatening it would "not be silent on the matter," and Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin saying "we are very angry."
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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