Ireland has warned Israel against using Irish passports in operations of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, after the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Ze’ev Boker, refused to confirm in an interview to the media that Israeli security agencies were not using Irish passports in covert operations. The use of Irish passports in espionage operations became a sensitive issue in Ireland, after the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a co-founder of the armed wing of the Internationally recognized terror organization Hamas, was ascribed to Mossad agents.
Reports which indicated the usage of forged Irish passports by the agents that committed the assassination, produced a severe diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon responded to the comments by the Israeli ambassador, stressing that the diplomat’s comment “was taken out of context.” Nahshon emphasized that “The Israeli ambassador to Ireland is solely engaged in the advancement of bilateral relations.”