By IRNA,
London : Israel will be allowed to replace the senior Mossad station chief being expelled from Britain if it offers assurances that forged UK passports will never be used again for clandestine operations, it was reported Thursday.
But such a declaration would be tantamount to an admission of Israel’s guilt in the targeted assassination of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January, according to the Independent newspaper.
The Israeli regime has shown no signs so far that it will acquiesce to the demand made by Foreign Secretary David Miliband to pledge that “the state of Israel would never be party to the misuse of British passports in such a way”.
The Jewish Chronicle said that the Israeli diplomat being expelled is believed by the Foreign Office to be directly linked to the forgeries but reported an Israeli official confirming that a replacement would be sent to London in due time.
Australia, France, Germany and Ireland also conducting their own investigations into the forging of their passports used by the Mossad hit squad and have yet to announce any action against Israel.