http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1171766/posts

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Two alleged Israeli secret agents were given six-month prison terms in this country Thursday for illegally trying to obtain a New Zealand passport.



Prime Minister Helen Clark later said the case "seriously strained relations" between Israel and New Zealand, and canceled planned foreign ministry talks later this year.



"The New Zealand government views the act carried out by the Israeli intelligence agents as not only utterly unacceptable but also a breach of New Zealand sovereignty and international law," she said.



Urie Zoshe Kelman, 30, and Eli Cara, 50, both admitted to the passport charges at an earlier hearing. They'd faced a maximum sentence of five years.



The two, reportedly linked to Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence service, were arrested in March after they tried to collect a passport in the name of a New Zealand citizen who is a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy victim.



There was no reaction from the pair following their sentencing in the Auckland High Court.



Israel's acting ambassador in Australia, Orma Sagiv, said Israel would be working to rebuild relations with New Zealand.



"Israel values its relations with New Zealand very much and we will do everything we can to return relations to their former situation," she said from Canberra.



Thursday's sentencing came after the two defendants made a surprise plea change to guilty at their last court appearance on July 2.



Two other men thought to be involved in the crime remain at large, police said.



One has been named as Ze'ev William Barkin, 36, but police said the pair in custody had refused to divulge the fourth man's identity. He is believed to be at large in New Zealand.



Clark said that Israel had ignored requests made three months ago for an explanation and an apology.



As a result, Clark said she would suspend high-level visits by New Zealand government officials to Israel and refuse any request for Israel's President Moshe Katsav to visit later this year when he is due to go to Australia.



Any Israelis visiting New Zealand on government business would have to apply for a visa. Approval for the appointment of a new Israeli ambassador to New Zealand will also be delayed.



"As will be apparent from these steps, the breach of New Zealand laws and sovereignty by agents of the Israeli government has seriously strained our relationship with Israel," Clark said in a statement following the sentencing.

Cue cacophony of "anti-Semite!" allegations against authorities in NZ.

They already on top of it over at Kosher Republic. See the 'I would give Israel a pass' comments.

I have been following this on the news. It seems as though the anti-semite card was played almost immediately.

To be honest, I am shocked that NZ has come out so forcefully against Israel.

Political correctness aside, the NZ PM really has been forced to act. But yes, you're right, the adamites would probably get off softer on most things than most.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?reportID=1162641&storyID=3578872



High-ranking Israeli officials are seeking a diplomatic solution to the New Zealand Government's decision to impose sanctions against the Middle East nation after the sentencing of two alleged intelligence agents for trying to illegally obtain New Zealand passports.

But a formal apology from the Israel's Government is not in the pipeline.

That would be an admission of guilt, said a well-placed source. This is unlikely to happen given the New Zealand Government's stance on Palestine.

Prime Minister Helen Clark's strong statement featured prominently on television bulletins in Israel on Thursday and was splashed across the front pages of all leading newspapers yesterday.

Israel Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and his officials have continued to push a conciliatory line as they study Helen Clark's statement to see where an olive branch might be extended.

But Israeli President Moshe Katsav has reacted to the snub by Helen Clark who said a request for him to visit New Zealand this year would be declined. The president said he was not personally affected by the sanctions as there was never an intention to tack on a visit to a planned Australian trip.

Meanwhile Israel's Foreign Ministry has been under strict instructions from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Mossad not to comment directly on allegations that Israeli intelligence agents had breached New Zealand's sovereignty, according to Haaretz newspaper.

In an interview with the Herald, the head of the ministry's pacific department, continued to formally distance Israel from the actions of Eli Cara and Uri Kelman.

The two Israeli citizens were processed on the criminal law, said Michael Ronen. He understood that while they had admitted they had committed crimes, they had admitted no involvement "of an organisational sort".

"I don't have a reason to say anything else." Mr Ronen said officials would do all in their power to re-establish relations. Officials appear to be pinning their initial strategy on the fact that the sanctions stop short of a full break in diplomatic relations.

But a formal apology from the Israel's Government is not in the pipeline.

Jews don't apologize. Jews accuse. In any event, shortly NZ will once again crawl forth beneath the stern gaze of ZOG and beg forgiveness like all the western democracies. I don't capitalize western anymore. It is just one of four directions at this point.

Why is the Mossad operating in New Zealand?

Why is the Mossad operating in New Zealand?

Maybe they're just trying to extent their reach to somewhere that they don't already control...

http://www.albawaba.com/news/index.php3?sid=281354&lang=e&dir=news

New Zealand has proof to support claims that the two Israelis arrested and sentenced last week on passport fraud charges are Mossad agents, the New Zealand Herald reported Tuesday.

Elisha Cara, 50, and Uriel Kelman, 31, were jailed for six months last week, after an Auckland court found them guilty of seeking to obtain a New Zealand passport through illegal means and of belonging to a criminal organization.

In addition, the two were fined 50,000 New Zealand dollars.

Two other Israelis have been accused in the same case - Ze'ev William Barkan, 37, who fled New Zealand before he could be arrested, and a man whose name has not been released.

According to the Tuesday's report, New Zealand intelligence services obtained concrete evidence that Cara and Kelman are Mossad agents by bugging their communications.

Covert surveillance was undertaken after a New Zealand Internal Affairs officer became suspicious about the passport application, the paper said.

New Zealand officials became suspicious when a man posing as a New Zealander spoke with a Canadian accent when calling the embassy to ask that his request for a New Zealand passport be expedited.

In the aftermath of the event, the government of New Zealand announced a series of sanctions against Israel.

Israel, for its part, will neither confirm nor deny the status of the prisoners. However, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said last week there was no doubt that the pair, Cara and Kelman, were operatives of the Israeli intelligence agency.

It should be mentioned that the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has highly appreciated the "daring" position of the New Zealand government against Israel.

A source within the Movement, in a press release distributed earlier this week, urged all countries to follow the model of the New Zealand stand in adopting firm measures against the Israel’s violations of laws on foreign lands to achieve certain targets.

The source explained that it was not the first time for the Israeli security bodies, especially the Mossad to gain illegitimate means to achieve criminal acts. (Albawaba.com)

wow is all this seriouse! where do you get all this stuff Fade, and all the way in America!

Cherubim