 The
New Zealand government views the act carried out by
the Israeli intelligence agents as not only utterly
unacceptable but also a breach of New Zealand
sovereignty and international law.
-- Helen Clark, New Zealand's
tough talking Prime Minister 
London, Thursday, July 15, 2004 New
Zealand jails Israeli 'spies'  The
Israelis pleaded guilty but denied
they were Mossad agents
NEW Zealand has imposed
diplomatic sanctions on Israel over the activities
of two alleged members of the Israeli intelligence
agency, Mossad.
The Israelis were sentenced to six months in
prison for trying to obtain New Zealand passports
illegally. Prime Minister Helen Clark said that such
acts by what she called Israeli government agencies
were a violation of New Zealand sovereignty. The Israelis, Uriel Zosha Kelman and
Eli Cara, deny working for Mossad. They did plead guilty to attempting to gain New
Zealand passports illegally and working with
organised criminal gangs. In a statement to the
Auckland court trying the men, Ms Clark said she
would suspend government visits to Israel,
Israeli officials would need visas to enter New
Zealand and foreign ministry contacts would be
suspended. Her government is also planning to refuse any
request for Israel's President, Moshe
Katsav, to visit next month when he is due in
Australia and delay its approval for the
appointment of a new Israeli ambassador to New
Zealand. Apology
demanded  Ms
Clark (right) said she had no doubt the two
men were Israeli intelligence agents and that the
case was "far more than simple criminal behaviour
by two individuals".
She said the case had "seriously strained our
relationship" with Israel. New Zealand had asked
Israel for an explanation and an apology, but had
received neither. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said he
was sure that Israel could repair the diplomatic
damage and re-establish good relations with New
Zealand, but did not specify how the Israeli
government would go about it. A BBC correspondent in Jerusalem, David
Chazan, says Israeli officials give the
impression of regarding New Zealand as a relatively
unimportant country. Sources close to the
government say the Israeli reaction might have been
different if a larger and more influential country
had been involved. The two Israelis were arrested in March
[2004] after they tried to collect a
passport in the name of a New Zealand national who
is a wheelchair-bound cerebral
palsy victim. Trying to obtain a passport fraudulently carries
a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment in
New Zealand. News agency reports say the two Israelis
received lighter sentences because they pleaded
guilty and because they
pledged to donate $32,700 to a local
charity. 
Two Israelis plead
guilty to trying to acquire a New Zealand
passport | The
spies who stole my name-
Mossad
sending hostile New Zealand Message Via
Asian-Based organisations after arrest of two
agents
-
May 19, 2004: BBC
reports that Lebanon smashes Mossad
assassination ring
-
May 13, 2004: The
1979 Mossad Assassination attempt on Ambassador
John Dean: Dean papers with full taste of
Mossad's evil opened at Jimmy Carter's
Presidential Library
-
May 9, 2004: Israelis
with fake docs arrested in Tennessee, 'how to
fly' leaflet found; were seen to toss something
else out of Ryder truck, FBI called in
-
May 1, 2004: Crown
Prince Abdullah says Zionists behind Terror
attacks in Saudi Arabia
-
A
history of Mossad's overseas
bungling
-
Apr 29 -- May 2004: Secrecy
surrounds two Mossad agents when they reappear
in Auckland court on NZ passport forgery
charges | Police
fear al Qaeda terrorists using NZ passports
following arrest of 2 men in Thailand and
seizure of fake NZ passports | The
two Mossad agents charged with NZ passport
offences photographed in Auckland reporting to
police as part of bail conditions |
Two
men believed by senior Government figures to be
Israeli secret service agents have been arrested
in Auckland trying to obtain a false New Zealand
passport | One
Mossad agent entered NZ on a fake Canadian
passport
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