TWO OF the three Irish citizens whose legitimate passport numbers were yesterday discovered to be the same as those on fake Irish passports used by three members of the team allegedly responsible for the assassination of a senior Hamas operative in Dubai have been notified by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The two contacted both live in Ireland, The Irish Times has learned.
The identities of the people recorded on the forged passports do not correspond to those recorded on the valid passports carrying the same numbers.
Earlier this week Dubai police released the names and photographs of 11 suspects they say were involved in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was found dead in his hotel room last month. They claimed six carried British passports, three had Irish passports, and the others used passports from Germany and France.
The Department of Foreign Affairs had previously said passport numbers which had been reported in several Gulf newspapers to be those used in the supposed Irish passports were obviously counterfeit as they contained the wrong number of digits and no letters.
But the Irish Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Ciarán Madden, yesterday received information during a meeting with police and foreign ministry officials in Dubai indicating that, while the Irish passports used by three members of the 11-strong team were fraudulent, genuine passport numbers had been used.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he regarded as “extremely serious” any activity which would jeopardise the integrity of the Irish passport.
“Our passport is widely regarded and respected throughout the world as being of the highest quality. We have invested very heavily in extra security features so that our citizens can travel in safety,” he said.
“Actions which endanger our well-earned reputation in this area have the potential to affect the security of all our citizens travelling overseas. I am determined to maintain the good name of Irish passports.”
The department is liaising closely with the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and with the Garda in relation to the case. Irish diplomats in London, Paris and Berlin are also in contact with the authorities in those countries with a view to co-operating with what has become a wide-ranging inquiry.
The UAE’s ambassador to Ireland, who presented his credentials to President Mary McAleese yesterday, is due to discuss the matter in meetings with Department of Foreign Affairs officials today.
British prime minister Gordon Brown has pledged a full investigation. The Israeli ambassador to Britain has been summoned to a meeting with UK foreign office officials to discuss the links to Israel of a number of British nationals affected by the fraudulent use of British passports by the alleged hit team. Five Israelis who hold dual citizenship in Britain and Germany and whose names were on some of the passports have denied any connection with the killing in interviews with Haaretz, the Israeli daily.
The Irish Times has learned that Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, will be called to a meeting at the Department of Foreign Affairs following the latest revelations. Mr Evrony last night declined to comment.
Yesterday Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said the country’s Mossad intelligence agency should not be automatically linked to the assassination.
Hamas has accused Mossad of orchestrating the killing.
“There is no reason to think that it was the Israeli Mossad, and not some other intelligence service or country up to some mischief,” he said on Israeli radio.
Mr Lieberman added that Israel maintained a policy of “ambiguity” on security operations.
He also played down concerns over reaction in London to reports that Mossad may have used British passports.
“I think Britain recognises that Israel is a responsible country and that our security activity is conducted according to very clear, cautious and responsible rules of the game. Therefore we have no cause for concern,” he said.
Rafi Eitan, a former high-ranking Mossad official and government minister, denied Israeli involvement.
“Mossad was not behind the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, but rather a foreign organisation that is trying to frame Israel,” he told Israel Army Radio.