re: #291 Original Kolya

As for the British response, it is not correct to say that David Miliband directly accused Israel of carrying out the killing. Actually he studiously avoided saying just that. All he did was accuse Mossad of cloning the passports. When challenged in Parliament to draw the natural inference that Mossad also carried out the killing, he declined, saying that the Dubai authorities are investigating the matter and he didn’t want to preempt that investigation.

Here’s what Miliband said:

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, laid out the case against Israel in parliament, saying a police investigation found “compelling reasons” to believe Israel was responsible for the copying of British passports, which were used by the killers of a Hamas leader, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. He said the documents “were copied from genuine British passports when handed over for inspection to individuals linked to Israel, either in Israel or in other countries”.

The name of the official was not published. British officials said the diplomat had been asked to leave because of their position at the embassy and was not being accused of direct involvement in the falsification of British passports. The Guardian understands the official is a senior Mossad agent.

Tonight the Foreign Office warned British travellers to try to avoid entrusting their passports to Israeli officials.

British sources said there was evidence that the 12 British victims of stolen identity had had their passports temporarily taken away either by Israeli immigration officers or other officials. Clones of those passports were subsequently used by some of the large team sent to kill Mabhouh.

“They found no link to any other country,” Miliband said. Without mentioning the Mossad by name, he added that “the government judges it is highly likely that the forgeries were made by a state intelligence service”.

That’s about as direct an accusation as any politician will ever make.