Hi

[MayBe]

Hi im new to this site. I have been following a news item for years trying to understand why nothing was done no arests or any thing.
I saw this item and a google took me here.
One of the few country leaders to ever go on the record of a spy attack.
I dont know how to post links so i will copy paste. Following is my bad attempt at posting info that im concerned about.
Its iteresting the time line - things are planned years and years previous. Most organisations dont survive a year or 2 but planning a passport ages back?
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/na ... -hit-squad

Last updated 05:00 08/05/2010

An Israeli spy at the centre of a New Zealand passport scandal has been named as a suspect in the execution of a Hamas commander, as Israel finally restored its diplomatic presence in Wellington.

The new ambassador to New Zealand, Shemi Tzur, dismissed reports yesterday that Zev Barkan was involved in the murder of Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Barkan was among five new suspects being investigated after the assassination of Mr al-Mabhouh when a team of assassins broke into his five-star Dubai hotel room and silently killed him.

A "Do not disturb" sign was left on the room door. Security camera footage showed the alleged killers sharing a lift with Mr al-Mabhouh before the killing.

Dubai police have blamed the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, for the killing, but Israel denies the charge.

In 2004, prime minister Helen Clark said there was no doubt that Mr Barkan and two others who tried to fraudulently obtain New Zealand passports were Mossad operatives.

The three men were charged, but Mr Barkan eluded capture. Police still have a warrant for his arrest. The other two were jailed and later deported.

Diplomatic relations with Israel were suspended for more than a year, before Israel finally apologised in 2005. The two countries' governments have hailed strong recent progress on their relationship.

The Israeli embassy, which was closed in 2002 for financial reasons, reopened in Wellington late last month and the new ambassador, Mr Tzur, presented his credentials yesterday to Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand.

Mr Tzur, a career diplomat with experience in Middle Eastern peace talks, said the 2004 passport scandal was in the past. "I can tell you now, when I came to New Zealand we were not discussing that. My delegation and in all my meetings, we were talking about how we are building strong ties in many fields that we can co-operate."

Mr Tzur said he was not in a position to comment on the Dubai killing.

However, he had read about the case in the newspapers. "Like many others, I see every second day something come from Dubai – now it's what, I don't know, 100 people [accused] almost."

Victoria University Associate Professor Jim Veitch, an expert on international relations, said the murder of Mr al-Mabhouh was a "major blunder" by Mossad.

Mossad was very active all over the Western world in getting passports and tracking people from the Islamic world.

"The Israelis are just so paranoid about security and protection that they will go to any lengths to make sure that they keep a gap between themselves and those that they perceive to be the enemy," Dr Veitch said.

Ad Feedback However, it was much better to have the Israeli embassy restored in New Zealand. "Having them here means we can have conversations with them.

"It's just normal that they act in this way. We just have to accept that right now, it's part of what the situation in the world is like."

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said the Israeli Government's 2005 apology over the passport scandal had been accepted and the matter was closed. Thenew embassy in Wellington was welcome.

[Ognir]

Welcome MayBe

[MayBe]

Here is a news update so the info is all together.

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/australia- ... it-3566364
Published: 7:58PM Monday May 24, 2010
Source: Reuters

Australia's government said it had ordered the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat over the use of fake passports in the assassination of a top Hamas militant in Dubai in January.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said a police investigation had left no doubt Israeli intelligence services had been behind the forgery of four Australian passports used by suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room.

"These investigations and advice have left the government in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of these passports," Smith told Australia's parliament. "These are not the actions of a friend."

The Australian government ordered an inquiry into the fake passports by police and intelligence services, who visited Israel and found the four citizens involved had been innocent of any involvement.

"No government can tolerate the abuse of its passports, especially by a foreign government," Smith said. "This is not what we expect from a nation with whom we have had such a close, friendly and supportive relationship."

The government, he said, had asked that a member of Israel's Australian embassy in Canberra be withdrawn within a week. Australia and Israel are traditionally close allies and an embassy spokesman said he "regretted" the decision.

"We feel it is not reflective of the extensive relationship between the two nations," the spokesman said.

Dubai authorities have given names of alleged members of the team that tracked and killed the Palestinian, and said they used fraudulent British, Irish, French, German and Australian passports to enter and leave Dubai.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in February there was no evidence to link his country to the killing, which also prompted Britain to expel an Israeli in March.

But Britain's then-government said an investigation by the country's Serious Organised Crime Agency had found 12 forged British passports were used in the hit, copied from genuine passports.

Four Australians - Nicole McCabe, Joshua Bruce, Adam Korman and Joshua Krycer - had their identities stolen and used in fake passports held by suspects believed to be involved in the assassination, Smith said.

Mabhouh, born in the Gaza Strip, had lived in Syria since 1989 and Israeli and Palestinian sources have said he played a key role in smuggling Iranian-funded arms to militants in Gaza.

Smith said the passport cloning operation used in his killing was of high quality and had obviously been state-backed.

"The decision was made much more in sorrow than in anger," he said. "The decision was made in our national security interests, made in support of the integrity of our passport system, made in efforts to protect Australians who travel overseas."

Authorities in Dubai had already been briefed on Australia's findings, he said, along with the other countries involved and close Australian and Israeli ally the United States.

[Christopher Marlowe]

Hi Maybe. Welcome. Have a seat. Can I get you a soda or some water?  Make yourself at home.

[Brandyman]

Sorry, I'm not very tech-savvy. See my intro on my own topic title...  :eh: