Britain is preventing a new Mossad representative from taking up his post in London after his predecessor was expelled over the Israeli spy agency’s alleged use of faked British passports to assassinate a Palestinian resistance leader in Dubai.

Israel has balked at Britain’s demand that it should promise in writing not to use British passports for similar clandestine operations in the future, the daily newspaper Yediot Ahronoth said.
Israel has so far refused the condition, it said, because to do so could be seen as an admission of culpability over the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official who was assassinated in his Dubai hotel room in January.
Britain ordered the previous Mossad representative in the Israeli Embassy in London to leave the country almost six weeks ago to show the Government’s anger that the Israeli spy agency had apparently obtain cloned British, French, Irish, German and Australian passports to infiltrate Dubai, kill Mabhouh and escape.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that it had received no approach from Israel about replacing the expelled agent.
“However, we look to Israel to rebuild the trust we believe is required for the full and open relationship we would like,” an FCO spokeswoman said.
“We have asked for specific assurances from Israel, which would clearly be a positive step towards rebuilding that trust. Any Israeli request for the diplomat to be replaced would be considered against the context of these UK requests.”
On expelling the Mossad agent from the Embassy in London in March, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, called the cloning of British passports an “intolerable” act that displayed “a profound disregard for the sovereignty of the United Kingdom”.
He told the Commons he had demanded a formal assurance from Avigdor Lieberman, his Israeli counterpart, that no such acts would be undertaken again. According to Tuesday’s reports, no such written pledge has been submitted.
There were some fears in Israel that Britain’s tough example could be followed by other countries enraged at the faking of their citizens’ identity documents, and that a wave of expulsions could harm Mossad’s ability to operate in Europe.
MI6 and Mossad enjoy a close working relationship, according to former operatives and security experts here.
Ties between Israel and Britain have been strained recently, not only because of the passport row but also because of the use of the British court system by pro-Palestinian groups to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders visiting Britain, accusing them of war crimes.
Several senior Israeli officials have either cancelled scheduled trips or left the country after learning that police were looking for them.
It emerged Monday that British police raided a hotel in North London in December last year to arrest Tzipi Livni, who now heads the opposition Kadima party but who was the Foreign Minister during the Israeli offensive into Gaza earlier in the year.
Ms. Livni had been scheduled to attend a conference on water resources but had cancelled the trip, and activists mistook Tami Schor, the deputy director of the Israel Water Authority, for her and filed for an arrest warrant, Israeli media reported.
The Foreign Office has expressed its anger in the past that a legal loophole is being used to threaten visiting Israeli officials and said it would reform the law to prevent further embarrassment.
Israel will be watching this week’s general election in Britain closely, fearing that if the Liberal Democrats win a role in government, diplomatic ties will further deteriorate, as the party has in the past backed boycotts of Israel
(Source: Times Online)
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