Melbourne, May 24: Australia demanded that Israel withdraw an embassy official from the country, saying the Jewish state was behind fake Australian passports linked to the killing of a Hamas operative.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia remained a “firm friend” of Israel but that no government could tolerate the abuse of its passports.
“The government has asked that a member of the Israeli embassy in Canberra be withdrawn from Australia,” Smith told parliament, without identifying the official.
“I have asked that the withdrawal be effected within a week.”
An investigation into how four Australian passports were used by the team that carried out the January assassination of Hamas operative Mahmud al-Mabhuh in a luxury Dubai hotel found the documents were forgeries, Smith said.
He said the high quality of the forged passports pointed to the involvement of a state intelligence service.
“These investigations and advice have left the government in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of these passports,” he said.
In March, Britain kicked out an Israeli diplomat over the “intolerable” use of fake British passports also used in the killing.
Israel’s Mossad has been widely blamed for the assassination of the Hamas chief but Israel maintains there is no proof for this claim.
Suspects in the killing used the identities of 12 people from Britain, as well as people from France, Germany and Ireland along with the four Australian identities, Dubai police have said.
–Agencies