Unless this is all very elaborate theatre designed to convince the Australian people that the government is furious about the Israeli passport scandal, when in fact, they’re not, I can’t recall another time when Israel is being challenged as strongly in the public arena (and certainly not when Israel is killing civilians in Palestine):
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has assured Australians their passports are safe, after three forged passports were used by suspects in a political assassination.
Mossad, Israel’s secret service, is widely believed to be behind the organised hit on senior Hamas operative Mahmud al-Mabhuh in a Dubai hotel room last month.
Three Australian passport-holders, Joshua Bruce, Adam Korman and Nicole McCabe, are believed to have had their identities stolen and used in fake passports held by three suspects in the assassination.
“We do know that in terms of passports in this country, basically they’re very safe,” Ms Gillard told the Nine Network today.
“It’s less than half a per cent that go missing each year and most of them would be lost in pretty benign circumstances.
“You know they’re at the back of the sock drawer and no one can find them.”
Ms Gillard said any use of Australian identities by the Israeli government for secret police assassinations would not be tolerated.
“If there’s any suggestion Australian identities have been used by the Israeli government for this purpose then that is completely unacceptable,” she said.
“Democracies have to be accountable for their actions and we’ll be making sure that Israel is accountable and this is fully investigated.”