Israel steals passports
Published: Jun 7, 2010 01:05 Updated: Jun 7, 2010 01:30
Freed activists fear their IDs could be used in future assassinations
RAMALLAH, West Bank: The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza said Sunday that Israeli authorities stole dozens of passports belonging to pro-Palestinian activists last week. In a press statement, the Campaign said the Israeli authorities "stole 31 passports of foreign activists who were on board the Freedom Flotilla."
The organization quoted the activists as saying that the Israeli authorities confiscated their passports when they were kidnapped on the high seas on May 31. They were not handed back the passports on release.
The Campaign feared that the Israeli authorities, mainly the Mossad spy agency, may use the passports to carry out new assassinations. Top Hamas commander Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was assassinated in a Dubai hotel on Jan. 19 by Israeli agents using forged European passports.
The Campaign called on European countries to follow up on the issue and prevent the misuse of the stolen passports.
Meanwhile, seven of 19 activists from the Rachel Corrie aid ship which tried to run the Gaza siege were expelled from Israel on Sunday. The remaining 12 would be deported later, an Israeli official said.
Six Malaysians and a Cuban national from the boat were deported to Jordan early in the afternoon, leaving Israel via the Allenby Bridge. An Indonesian journalist, who was injured in last Monday's deadly Israeli raid, also crossed over with the group.
US alternative rock group The Pixies canceled their first-ever performance in Israel, the promoters said in a statement Sunday, with the band blaming the last-minute decision on "events beyond our control". The group was to have performed a single gig on Wednesday as part of five-day music festival in Tel Aviv, but pulled out days after the deadly naval raid.
"It is with great regret that we announce today The Pixies' decision to cancel their appearance in Israel on June 9," promoter Shuki Weiss said in a statement, which also included an apology to fans from the band.
"The decision was not reached easily, and we all know well the Israeli fans have been waiting for this visit for far too long," the band members wrote.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed a multinational investigation of the raid. He suggested establishing a panel that would be headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and include representatives from Turkey — under whose flag the ship sailed — Israel and the United States.
But Israel's ambassador to the United States Michael Oren said Tel Aviv will reject the idea of an international commission. "We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place," Oren said on "Fox News Sunday."
— With input from agencies

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