Israeli envoy calls in for first visit since spy row

Prime Minister Helen Clark is playing down as a routine call her first meeting with an Israeli official since the spy scandal sorely tested relations between the two countries.

Canberra-based Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand, Nati Tamir, is coming to Auckland especially on Monday to attend the official Waitangi Day reception.

He is scheduled to have a short meeting with the Prime Minister, the Israeli honorary consul has announced.

A spokeswoman for Helen Clark yesterday said it was a "just a routine call". However, it is the first official meeting since relations took a chilly turn after two suspected Israeli spies were arrested in March 2004 and charged with trying to fraudulently obtain New Zealand passports.

Uriel Zoshe Kelman and Eli Cara were convicted in July last year, then deported last September after serving two months of their six-month prison sentences.

Israel closed its Wellington embassy in 2002 for cost-cutting reasons and has done diplomatic business with New Zealand from Australia.

New Zealand suspended diplomatic relations following the passport conviction, with Helen Clark saying they would not be restored until Israel apologised.

In August a statement of regret arrived and Israel's new ambassador to New Zealand was later accredited.

- NZPA