*Ø* Helen Clark socks it to Israel over spies

NZ fury over Israel 'secret two'

"NEW Zealand's Prime Minister launched a blistering verbal attack and slapped diplomatic sanctions on Israel Thursday after two suspected Mossad agents were imprisoned for six months for illegally trying to obtain a New Zealand passport.

"'New Zealand condemns without reservation these actions by agencies of the Israel government,' Prime Minister Helen Clark said after the pair were sentenced to prison terms.

"'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.

"Ms Clark said the action of the men and those of the Israeli Government had 'seriously strained relations' with New Zealand.

"The pair, Urie Zoshe Kelman, 30, and Eli Cara, 50, both admitted a charge of illegally trying to obtain a New Zealand passport at an earlier hearing.

"They were arrested in March after they tried to collect a passport in the name of a New Zealand national who is a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy victim."
Source: The Australian