Media sources in Israel have claimed that “secret and sharp” diplomatic messages have been received by the government in Tel Aviv voicing protests about the Zionist state’s use of fake passports for espionage purposes. According to Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, such messages have been sent by several countries from Asia, Africa and Europe complaining about the use of their passports for “operational activities overseas” by Israel’s secret intelligence agency, Mossad. Some of the countries, said the newspaper, are “friends of Israel”; none are the countries whose passports were abused during the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai last year.
That Mossad operation sparked a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Britain, Australia and Ireland, but France and Germany merely asked the Israelis for “clarification”. Yedioth Ahronoth said that Mossad’s use of fake passports for espionage purposes “caused severe damage to the credibility of Israel”. A foreign diplomat added, “Israel has a bad name when it comes to everything related to the passports of other countries.”