Australia right to ban envoy: Israeli paper Haaretz

John Lyons

ISRAEL's influential Haaretz newspaper has backed Australia's decision to expel an Israeli diplomat, describing it as "perfectly understandable" and calling on the Netanyahu government to apologise to Canberra over the row.

The paper said no country, including Israel, could ignore the disclosure that its citizens' passports had been forged by a friendly nation.

It said Israel should refrain from "violating" the sovereignty of Australia and Britain, which had 12 passports forged, allegedly for an assassination.

But other sections of the Israeli media have drawn on claims by Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop that Australian intelligence agencies also forged passports.

In an editorial yesterday headlined "Australian lesson", Haaretz said: "The use of borrowed identities is sometimes necessary in the battle against terrorism. But at the same time, decision-makers must take account of the fact that no country (including Israel) could ignore the disclosure that its citizens' passports have been forged by a friendly country."

The paper said that every time a passport forgery was exposed "and the trail leads to Jerusalem, the government wraps itself in silence and hopes the wave of protest will die down.

"And when the injured countries do protest, Israel acts offended."

Haaretz is published daily in Israel in Hebrew and English, and is closely read by Israeli government officials, academics, foreign diplomats and foreign journalists. Its critics say the paper has a left-wing bias and often criticises the Israeli government, but supporters say it challenges whoever is in power.

The editorial said: "One can only hope the highest levels of both the government and the defence establishment are taking the expulsion of the Mossad representatives from Britain and Australia seriously, and drawing all the necessary conclusions from the aftermath of the assassination in Dubai.

"Instead of 'regretting' these friendly governments' perfectly understandable response, it would be better to apologise to them and refrain from violating their sovereignty in the future.

"Israel should not be gambling with so valuable a strategic asset as its foreign relations."

The Jerusalem Post yesterday reported that Ms Bishop had said there was no definite proof that Israel was behind the false passports and that the Rudd government's actions in expelling the Mossad representative were an attempt to "curry favour" with the Arab community and win a seat on the UN Security Council.

The paper pointed out that Australia's Deputy Opposition Leader had said Australia also used forged passports.

In criticising the expulsion, Ms Bishop said it would be naive to think Israel was the only country that used forged passports, including Australian passports, for security operations.

Asked by the reporter: "What, we do?", she replied "Yes."

Earlier, she said on radio: "And it wouldn't be the first time another country forged passports for a particular operation. And I would include in that Australia."

Ms Bishop has since sought to retract the comments, and denied she had suggested the Australian intelligence agencies used forged passports.

The Post reported that diplomatic officials in Israel were describing the expulsion as "a big crisis" in relationships between Australia and Israel.

The paper said that for the six weeks after the Israeli ambassador to Canberra, Yuval Rotem, was called in by the Department of Foreign Affairs to be "dressed down" in February over the passports issue, there had been "absolutely no contact" between the embassy and the Australian government, and that since then contacts had been "severely reduced".