Australia Expels Israeli Diplomat in Passport Punishment

Having concluded that Israel’s intelligence service improperly used Australian passports in carrying out a mission to assassinate a Hamas terrorist leader in Dubai, the Australian government has expelled an Israeli diplomat from its embassy in Canberra. On Monday, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Parliament that Israel’s actions “were not those of a friend.” An Israeli newspaper has identified the expelled diplomat as the representative of the Mossad intelligence service. It is alleged that the Israelis lifted the identities of dual citizens and then forged new passports for their agents to use. The Australians point to what they call the “high quality” of the forgeries as proof that the Israeli government was involved. The Australian reaction mirrors that of the U.K., which expelled an Israeli diplomat in March, also in relation to the Dubai hit. Both governments were particularly livid because it was not the first time Israel has been warned against issuing the phony passports to its intelligence agents.