Irish town snubs Israel envoy in protest: report

LONDON (AFP) – An Irish town council has removed a page in its guestbook signed by the Israeli ambassador after the alleged use of fake Irish passports by the Jewish state's spies, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Authorities in Carrickmacross, northeast Ireland, voted to remove Zion Evrony's signature to protest Israel's diplomatic record, said the broadcaster.

"I think if a government is responsible for a wholesale disregard for international law then local authorities, as well as our own government, have a responsibility to tell them we expect a higher standard," said local councilor Matt Carthy.

The move drew criticism from Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, who said envoys should be treated with "civility and respect."

The decision to get rid of Evrony's signature came after the alleged use of six false Irish passports in the assassination of a Hamas chief in Dubai last month, which has been widely blamed on Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

Mahmud al-Mabhuh, a founder of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was found dead in his hotel room on January 20 after being drugged and suffocated, according to police.

As well as the Irish documents, 12 British, four French, three Australian and one German passports were used by 26 named suspects in the hit, according to Dubai police, who insist Israel's spies carried out the killing.

Israel has sought to play down the row, saying there is no hard proof of its involvement.

Martin said he understood the "deep concerns" that people in Ireland harbored about some of Israel's policies, but added removing the signature went against the principles governing treatment of foreign diplomats.

"It is a basic principle of relations between states that we treat each other's diplomatic representatives with civility and respect, regardless of any policy differences," he told the BBC.

Israeli officials have refused to confirm or deny reports that its spies were behind the hit, but the country's media see the killing as Mossad's work and the investigation has caused a diplomatic headache for the Jewish state.

Ireland and other European states whose passports were allegedly faked and used in the hit have called in Israeli envoys to voice their concerns about the affair.