Britons had passport stolen by ‘Mossad death squad’ used to assassinate a Hamas leader in Dubai

Times online
"British authorities are investigating how six British nationals apparently had their identities stolen by suspected Mossad agents on a mission to assassinate a Hamas leader in Dubai.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that the identities used by six members of the 11-strong hit squad were those of real British passport holders living in Israel. “We believe the passports used were fraudulent, and have begun our own investigation,” a spokesman said.

Authorities are considering the possibility that British passport details were copied from the originals by hotel or immigration staff while the holders were travelling.

While the names, passport numbers and dates of birth on the fraudulent passports matched the originals, the photographs and signatures differed."

Mossad has used the forged and stolen passports of several friendly countries to carry out hits in the past, including a bungled assassination attempt on the Hamas leader, Sheikh Khaled Meshaal, in 1997, when forged Canadian passports were used.

In 2004, New Zealand suspended diplomatic relations with Israel after jailing two Israeli agents for possessing fake New Zealand passports. In 1987, Britain formally protested to Israel over the use of forged British passports, and received assurances it would not happen again.