25/05/2010 Australia announced Monday that it intends to expel an Israeli diplomat from Canberra as a result of its investigation into the use of forged Australian passports during the assassination of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January.
The head of Australia's Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO), David Irvine, paid a secret visit to the Zionist entity earlier this month as part of an investigation into the use of forged Australian passports. Irvine's conclusions swayed the government in Canberra to decide that Israel was behind the passport forgery, and on Monday Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told parliament that the Mossad liaison officer in Australia would be asked to leave the country.
An investigation into the Mabhouh assassination revealed that four of the suspects had carried forged Australian passports. Australia initiated an investigation with the participation of the federal police, the relevant ministries and the country's internal security and intelligence service.
Smith told parliament that police investigators had traveled to the Zionist entity from Australia and presented him with a report on the matter on April 9. The police report was not unequivocal as to Israel's involvement in forging the passports, and the country's two intelligence services were asked to offer an opinion.
In his report to parliament, Smith said that Irvine was dispatched to Israel for several meetings with senior figures in Israeli defense establishment. On May 19 a final report was issued by the Australian intelligence services, placing responsibility for the forgeries on Israel. The report concluded that Australian citizens whose passports were forged had not been involved in the assassination of Mabhouh, but had fallen victim to identity theft.
Another conclusion was that the forgery was exceptionally professional and was carried out at a quality level that only a governmental intelligence agency is capable of performing.
After receiving the report, the Australian security cabinet met and approved Foreign Minister Smith's recommendation to expel the Mossad liaison officer in the country.
Israel's ambassador to Canberra, Yuval Rotem, was in Israel at the time, so a low-ranking diplomat was invited to the Australian Foreign Ministry, where he was informed that the individual would have to leave the country within a week. Following the decision, Smith informed the foreign ministers of Britain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as those of France, Germany and Ireland, whose passports were also allegedly used during the assassination.
In an unusual act, Australia informed the U.S. administration in advance on the content of its intelligence services' report and the decision to expel the Mossad liaison officer. Smith explained the action by saying that the U.S. has close ties with Israel and is an ally of Australia.
Smith told reporters that the expulsion of the Mossad man - "or woman" - was not the only step, nor necessarily the last one. There will be a cooling of ties between the two countries' intelligence services, which may affect intelligence cooperation on Iran's nuclear program. If there is a third incident of allegedly forged Australian passports (the first was in 2003), Australia's response will be even harsher.
The Australian announcement was received with shock in Israel, and sources at the Israeli Foreign Ministry described it as "a very serious crisis." "Israel expresses sadness at this Australian step, which is not in line with the nature and quality of ties between the two countries," a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry read.
For its part, Australia appears to be seeking to contain the crisis. Smith stressed that the action against Israel affects only the security-intelligence aspect of the mutual relations, and will not alter Australia's stance toward Israel or the conflict in the Middle East. Smith said that Australia will not stop supporting Israel in UN votes.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported Tuesday that there have not been lately any top-tier Australian politicians who were not supportive of Israel. It thus requires special talent to transform Australia into a country that feels obligated to take steps against Israel. Yet one person in Israel has that talent. And this time, it is not Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Haaretz concluded, “The person who managed to get Israel in trouble with Australia, Britain and the other embittered countries is the head of Mossad, Meir Dagan. But what does Dagan care about (Prime Minister Kevin) Rudd, Smith or Irvine? So long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in his pocket, the world can go to hell. And if it does not do so on its own, Dagan will show it how.”
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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