Apology After Irish Town Snubs Ambassador
Ireland's foreign minister has criticised a decision by a town council to tear out a page in its guestbook signed by Israel's ambassador to the country.
Representatives from Carrickmacross in County Monaghan voted to remove ambassador Dr Zion Evrony's signature in a protest against Israeli policies.
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Micheal Martin, the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, acknowledged tensions between Ireland and Israel but said that diplomatic representatives should be treated with "respect". He said: "I fully understand and share the deep concerns which many people in Ireland feel in regard to Israel's policies on a number of issues, including the settlements of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza - as well as allegations of the use of forged Irish passports by Israeli agents."
He added: "However, 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. To do otherwise would seriously undermine the ability of states to conduct international relations."
The Israeli ambassador, who was travelling around the country in an effort to correct "misconceptions" about Israel, was met by around 30 protesters when he visited Carrickmacross in January. The demonstration was reportedly arranged by Sinn Fein. Matt Carthy, a Sinn Fein councillor asked Evrony to leave the town.
Carthy later said that he hoped the decision to remove the ambassador's signature would send the message to Israel that "we expect a higher standard".
Meanwhile, Dubai's police chief has announced that Israelis with dual citizenship will be denied entry into the United Arab Emirates. Israeli citizens were previously permitted to enter the country if they travelled on a non-Israeli passport but Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim said: "We will not allow those who hold Israeli passports into the UAE no matter what other passport they have. We know Israelis from their accents but when they used European passports to come here we accepted that and treated them as Europeans. But now if they have dual citizenship we will exert extreme caution."
UK police officers travelled to Israel this week to interview six British olim whose identities were stolen by the alleged hit squad behind the Dubai killing. Officers from the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said the men are being treated as potential witnesses rather than suspects.
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