EU angry over Dubai hit squad’s use of diplomatic passports
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Israeli Ambassador to Great Britain Ron Prosor (second right) leaves the Foreign Office after meeting with Sir Peter Ricketts, the Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on February 18, 2010 in London, England. Mr Prosor answered questions regarding counterfeit British passports used by the alleged killers of a Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a "full investigation" into the use of fake British passports whilst Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that there is no proof Mossad were involved. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
Dubai hit squad may have used diplomatic passports (The Times):
The hit squad that killed a senior Hamas official in Dubai may have entered the country using diplomatic passports, officials in the Emirates said yesterday as they called on Britain and other European countries whose documents were forged to launch a full inquiry.
“There is still information that Dubai police will not make public for the moment, especially regarding diplomatic passports,” said Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai’s police chief.
Authorities have issued international arrest warrants for 11 suspects in the case, but now believe that the team behind the murder numbered at least 17. An insider close to the case said that the diplomatic passports were believed to have been used by as-yet-unnamed suspects, with the countries involved still to be identified.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned the ambassadors of all four EU nations whose documents were used. Edward Oakden, the British Ambassador in Abu Dhabi, attended the meeting alongside his counterparts from Ireland, France and Germany. Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said that his nation was “deeply concerned by the fact that passports of close allies, whose nationals enjoy preferential visa waivers, were illegally used to commit this crime”.
EU ‘extremely concerned’ over passport use in Hamas killing (AFP):
The European Union is “extremely concerned” at the use of European passports in the killing of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the Spanish EU presidency said Monday.
“We are extremely concerned that European passports… can be used in a different manner for a different purpose,” Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was due to meet Moratinos and several fellow European foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, seeking to reassure them over the use of British, Irish, French and German passports in the assassination of Mahmud al-Mabhuh in January.
“We are going to discuss it and I hope we will issue a statement expressing our concern about this situation,” said Moratinos ahead of the talks.
Meeting over fake Irish passports (BBC News):
The Irish foreign minister is to meet his Israeli counterpart over the use of fake Irish passports by three of the alleged killers of a Hamas commander.
Dubai police believe 11 “agents with European passports” killed Palestinian militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.
The passports had real numbers, but the names on them did not correspond to those in the genuine passports.
Michael Martin said he would discuss the matter with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday.
“I intend to meet the Israeli foreign minister in Brussels to underline our deep concern about the fake use of passports in Dubai and to seek reassurance and clarification on this very serious issue.”
Speaking at an event in Cork, Mr Martin said he planned to further discuss the issue at his regular meeting with 26 other EU foreign ministers.
“I also spoke with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates overnight and we remain in close contact with the British government,” he added.
EU grilling awaits Israeli official (Al Jazeera):
Britain, Ireland and France have already summoned Israeli diplomats to seek information on possible Israeli involvement.
Although the EU is not directly responsible for passport issues, which are under the individual jurisdiction of its 27 members, it is likely to support any measures that the affected nations may propose.
A senior EU diplomat said Israel’s suspected role in the murder of al-Mabhouh and the killers’ alleged use of forged EU passports would threaten relations with the European bloc.
“The passport controversy obviously will be harmful for the way Israel is treated by the EU,” the official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said.
Separately, the British embassy in Israel said on Sunday it was giving new passports to six British nationals whose identities were stolen by the suspects.
Hamas investigation
Izzat al-Rishq, a Hamas official, told the Jordanian newspaper Al-Sabeel that the group ”has formed a high-level investigation committee” to try to discover “how the Mossad was able to carry out the operation”.
In Dubai, Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, voiced concern on Sunday that the assassins used expertly doctored passports from nations that do not require advance UAE visas, allowing them to enter the country without scrutiny.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the foreign minister, urged European allies to investiigate how fraudulent passports had been used by the hit squad.
Emirati officials close to the investigation said that at least two more suspects in the murder entered the country on fraudulent Irish passports.
They also said some of the 18 suspects visited the Gulf city state for a reconnaissance mission at least once before the slaying.
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