Lieberman fails to reassure Ireland in passport killing row

Ireland is to expel an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged Irish passports by suspects in the murder of a Hamas official in Dubai in January, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.Foreign Minister Michael Martin said the Irish government had decided that "by way of protest at its unacceptable action, Israel be requested to withdraw a designated member of staff of its embassy in Dublin.""This demand has been conveyed to the Israeli ambassador and I would expect it to be quickly acceded to," he said.

Britain demands answers Thursday from Israel's envoy over fake British passports used by alleged killers of a Hamas chief, amid speculation the Jewish state's Mossad spies were behind the Dubai murder.The Israeli ambassador to London heads to the Foreign Office after being summoned Wednesday, hours after Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged a "full investigation" of the passports affair.

Britain demands answers Thursday from Israel's envoy over fake British passports used by alleged killers of a Hamas chief, amid speculation the Jewish state's Mossad spies were behind the Dubai murder.The Israeli ambassador to London heads to the Foreign Office after being summoned Wednesday, hours after Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged a "full investigation" of the passports affair.

Four European countries whose passports were implicated in a Hamas commander's killing have piled pressure on Israel, as Dubai said it wanted Mossad's chief arrested if his spies were behind the hit.Britain, Ireland, France and Germany on Thursday called in Israeli envoys for talks at their foreign ministries on the killing last month, widely suspected to be the work of the Israeli spy agency using false passports.

Israel’s Justice Ministry filed its indictment against former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in a Jerusalem court on Sunday, charging him with breach of trust and fraud in a case that could further harm his political career. Lieberman is accused of trying to advance the career of a former diplomat after the envoy relayed information to him about a criminal investigation into the former Cabinet minister’s business dealings.

Secret talks between Israel and Turkey to resolve a diplomatic crisis has provoked a major row between the Israeli foreign ministry and the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The dispute erupted late on Wednesday after Turkish and Israeli media reports revealed that Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had held secret talks in Belgium with Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer.Details of the meeting, however, were kept from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, with the firebrand minister only hearing of the talks through the media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting his hardline Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday in a bid to mend ties after sidelining him in talks aimed at ending a crisis with Turkey.Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met on Wednesday in Brussels for secret talks seeking a way out of the feud sparked by a deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.The talks sparked tensions in Israel as it emerged that Netanyahu gave the go-ahead for the meeting without informing Lieberman.

Israeli police interrogated Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday over suspicion of obstructing justice, a state prosecutor said."Mr Lieberman has been questioned by police, who suspect him of obstructing justice," Moshe Lador told Israel public television.According to the broadcaster, Israeli ambassador to Belarus Zeev Ben Arieh gave Lieberman, when he visited Minsk in 2008, a photocopy of a document relative to an investigation into the activities of the foreign minister.