New Zealand Freezes Contacts With Israel Over Spy Case

Citing "very strong reasons" to believe they were acting on behalf of the Israeli Mossad, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said "the two agents attempted to demean the integrity of the New Zealand passport system and could have created considerable difficulties for New Zealanders presenting their passports overseas in future."

In a statement carried by Reuters, she said it was not the first time Israel had sought fraudulently to obtain passports from another country, dismissing such Israeli behavior as "unacceptable internationally by any country."

"It is a sorry indictment of Israel that it has again taken such actions against a country with which it has friendly relations."

Clark recalled that "Israeli agents caught in an unsuccessful assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997 were found to be carrying fraudulent Canadian passports."

She said the Israeli government was asked for an explanation and an apology three months ago. "Neither has been received."

As a result, the New Zealand government would suspend all high-level diplomatic contacts with Israel, she stressed.

A New Zealand court Thursday sentenced Uriel Zoshe Kelman and Eli Cara to six months in prison after they pleaded guilty to trying to obtain fraudulently a New Zealand passport by assuming the identity of a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy.

The pair had faced a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

Kelman shielded his face with a hand to avoid being filmed throughout the hearing sentence.

The two men were arrested in March after police secretly followed them as they were arranging to pick up the passport.

Judge Judith Potter said the New Zealand passport had an integrity and international reputation as a reliable document that made it subject to less scrutiny than other passports.

Previous cases of passport fraud had been used for substantial financial gain. "But in this case motivation remains uncertain."

Israeli President Banned

Clark underlined the country would not allow a visit by Israeli President Moshe Katzav after he goes to Australia next month and delay the approval and accreditation of a new ambassador to New Zealand.

She also said Israeli officials would need visas to enter New Zealand and foreign ministry contacts would be suspended.

The premier said no attempt by the Israeli government to intervene on behalf of the men would be accepted, and that they would serve their sentences in full and then be deported.

Israel’s acting ambassador in Australia, Orma Sagiv, who also represents the Israeli interests in New Zealand, declined to comment on whether the men were intelligence agents or on the diplomatic sanctions.

The diplomat said they were aware of the case of "two Israeli citizens facing criminal charges and we see it as another consular case.

"We really respect the prime minister of New Zealand and out of respect for her we need to review the situation."

In Tel Aviv, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel would work to restore diplomatic relations with New Zealand, reported Haaretz.

"Israel has a long tradition of excellent relations with New Zealand, and we will do everything necessary – together with the New Zealand government – to restore relations," he told Israel Radio.

"Of course, we regret this response, but we think this decision is a decision that can be fixed."

In July, 2000, a Swiss court sentenced an Israeli secret service agent to a 12-month suspended prison term for a bungled wiretapping operation in Switzerland two years earlier.

A diplomatic row erupted in another European country, Sweden, in January this year when the Israeli ambassador was kicked out of the National Gallery of Antiquities after vandalizing a work of art.