by Talek Harris Talek Harris
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia summoned the Israeli ambassador on Thursday and delivered a stark warning on ties after three Australian passports were used by suspected Mossad assassins who murdered a top Hamas commander.
An image taken from hotel surveillance shows Hamas militant Mahmud al-Mabhuh (circled) checking into a Dubai hotel shortly before his murder in January 2010. Australia summoned the Israeli ambassador on Thursday and delivered a stark warning on ties after three Australian passports were used by suspected Mossad assassins who murdered the top Hamas commander.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia "will not be silent on the matter" after a woman and two men, holding apparently fake Australian passports, were named among 15 new suspects in the Cold War-style killing of Mahmud al-Mabhuh.
"If Australian passports are being used or forged by any state, let alone for the purpose of assassination, this is of the deepest concern and we are getting to the bottom of this now," Rudd told public broadcaster ABC.
"We will not leave a single stone unturned."
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told ambassador Yuval Rotem that Australia's friendly ties with Israel were at risk if investigations showed it was involved in tampering with the passports.
"We have made no conclusion about what to us -- from our preliminary investigation -- seems to be a serious abuse of three Australian passports either through forgery or identity fraud," Smith told reporters.
"But I made it crystal clear to the ambassador that if the results of that investigation cause us to come to the conclusion that the abuse of Australian passports was in any way sponsored or condoned by Israeli officials, then Australia would not regard that as the act of a friend."
The comments pile further pressure on Israel over the seemingly well-planned hit on al-Mabhuh, who was found dead in his luxury Dubai hotel room on January 20. He had been electrocuted and strangled, according to his brother.
Israeli ambassadors in four European countries have been summoned for talks and the European Union has also voiced outrage over the use of fake passports after an earlier list of 11 people was released.
Dubai police strongly suspect Mossad, Israel's secret service, of carrying out the hit and have called for the arrest of the spy agency's chief. Related article: Dubai hunts new Western suspects
The 15 new suspects range from people who provided logistical support to those who played a leading role.
Israel has sought to play down the row, saying there is no evidence of its involvement. It has rejected the calls for the arrest of Mossad's chief as "baseless" and "absurd".
One of the passport-holders, Australian-born Adam Korman, who works in a Tel Aviv shop, expressed shock at being named as a suspect and said he had been the victim of fraud.
"It's identity theft -- simply unbelievable," Korman told the Ynetnews.com website.
The mother of Joshua Daniel Bruce, another suspect listed along with Nicole Sandra McCabe, said the photograph, signature and date of birth on the passport released by Dubai police were not those of her son.
Sarah Bruce said Joshua was "unaware of everything" when she spoke with him briefly by phone in Jerusalem, his home for the past seven years.
"I am fearful (for his safety), but hopefully everyone will see that it is fraud. It's not his photo in the pictures they're flashing around everywhere," Sarah Bruce said.
Smith said Australian security officials were working round the clock on their probe and demanded cooperation from Israel, which he described as a "long-standing friend". Australia officially recognised Israel in 1949.
Al-Mabhuh masterminded a number of attacks on Israeli targets including the kidnapping of two soldiers.
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, has reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised the Mossad mission and met members of the hit squad shortly before their departure.
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