London: An Irish town council has ripped out a page from its distinguished visitors’ register signed by the Israeli ambassador after the alleged use of fake Irish passports by Israel’s Mossad spies to murder Hamas commander Mahoud Al Mabhouh in Dubai, BBC Online reported on Tuesday.
Local officials in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan in northeast Ireland, voted to remove Zion Evrony's signature to protest Israel’s diplomatic track record, said the broadcaster. “I think if a government is responsible for a wholesale disregard for international law then local authorities, as well as our own government, have a responsibility to tell them we expect a higher standard,” local councillor Matt Carthy told BBC.
The move came as Australia said Tuesday it will send police to Israel to investigate how Australian passports were used in the elaborate Al Mabhouh assassination plot in Dubai.
In Ireland, the foreign minister condemned the town council’s decision to remove the Israeli ambassador's signature and said the council was guilty of “disrespect”.
Minister Micheal Martin, who has just returned from a trip to Gaza, said he shared concerns about parts of Israel’s track record but that he disagreed with the decision to remove Dr Evrony’s name from the book. He added: “It is a basic principle of relations between states that we treat each other’s diplomatic representatives with civility and respect, regardless of any policy differences”.
However, Carthy, who tabled the motion, said he hoped the removal of the page would send a serious message to the Israeli government. “Carrickmacross is a very welcoming town but it was important that we took a stand,” he told BBC.
The decision came after the alleged use of six false Irish passports in the assassination of the Hamas commander in Dubai last month, which has been widely blamed on Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. As well as the Irish documents, 12 British, four French, three Australian and one German passports were used by 27 named suspects in the hit, according to Dubai police, who say Israel’s spies carried out the killing.
In Sydney, Australian officials said a team from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Passport Office would travel to Israel to conduct enquiries into passport offences following Al Mabhouh’s murder.
“[We] don’t wish to prejudice the investigation by going into any more detail,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. “Australia expects the Israeli government, its officials and its agencies, to cooperate fully with the Australian investigation,” The Australian newspaper quoted her as saying.
It reported that police will interview three Australians living in Israel – Nicole McCabe, Adam Korman and Joshua Bruce – whose passports were among the 27 foreign travel documents used by the assassins.
Australia's spy agency ASIO is also involved in the investigation, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She did not say whether ASIO officers were travelling to Israel. Australia has condemned the misuse of its passports and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith called Israeli Ambassador Yuval Rotem late last month to discuss Canberra’s “gravest” concerns about the matter.
