Israeli envoy secretly expelled from Australia - report

SYDNEY - Australia secretly forced a senior Israeli diplomat to leave the country, and neither Israel nor Australia wanted to comment about the matter, according to a newspaper report.

The Sydney morning Herald said the effective expulsion of the Canberra-based diplomat -- described as a consul in Israel -- was covered up for several weeks.

But it said the matter had come to light in a report in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv.

It said inquiries about the story last night were met by no comments from the Australian government.

The Ma'ariv newspaper speculated there might be some connection with last year's scandal in which two alleged agents of the Israeli spy service, Mossad, were arrested in New Zealand.

The arrest came after they were caught trying to fraudulently obtain passports.

The Sydney Morning Herald said it had been told by a source close to the Israeli cabinet that the reason for the incident must have been serious, given the friendly relations between the two countries.

It came ahead of a scheduled tour of Australia by Israeli President Moshe Katsav early next month.

The paper said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade summoned a senior embassy official to a meeting at which it requested the immediate recall of the consul.

It said if Israel did not withdraw its diplomat voluntarily, steps would be taken to declare him persona non grata and to initiate proceedings for his deportation.

In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry instructed the diplomat to pack his bags and return home immediately.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was aware of the report but would not comment.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Mossad agents had previously been caught using Canadian passports to secure entry to Jordan, where they were allegedly planning to stage an assassination.

-AAP