|Video Courtesy of NTDTV |
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith yesterday announced that the country’s government would expel an Israeli diplomat. An investigation found that the Israeli government was ‘‘in no doubt’' responsible for four forged Australian passports used in the murder of a Hamas operative in Dubai last January.
Smith said this was not the first time an Israeli diplomat had misused Australian passports and this instance was a “clear and direct breach of confidential undertaking” between the two countries, which have a history of good relations.
He said an investigation by Australian authorities found that the high quality of the fake passports “points to the involvement of a state intelligence service.”
Smith said there will be a “cooling-off period” between the two countries, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We would want very much for those cooperative relationships to proceed but there does require a rebuilding of trust and confidence,” he said.
Smith said this was not the first time an Israeli diplomat had misused Australian passports and this instance was a “clear and direct breach of confidential undertaking” between the two countries, which have a history of good relations.
He said an investigation by Australian authorities found that the high quality of the fake passports “points to the involvement of a state intelligence service.”
Smith said there will be a “cooling-off period” between the two countries, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We would want very much for those cooperative relationships to proceed but there does require a rebuilding of trust and confidence,” he said.