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Israeli president visits Australia after rare diplomatic tussle
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-28 14:34

Israeli President Moshe Katsav has begun a week-long visit to Australia, following a rare diplomatic incident that ruffled the otherwise close relations between the two countries.

Katsav and his wife Gila flew into Sydney accompanied by a 19-strong business delegation for the first visit to Australia by an Israeli head of state since 1986.

Israel President Moshe Katsav and his wife Gila wave as they board a boat for a cruise on Sydney Harbour February 28, 2005. Katsav will meet Australian Prime Minister John Howard and members of the Jewish communities in Sydney and Canberra during his one week stay in Australia. [Reuters]

The Israeli leader was due to meet with local officials and business leaders before heading to Canberra Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister John Howard and a string of official functions.

Security for the visit was tight, with anti-war and Palestinian protestors planning demonstrations outside venues where Katsav is due to appear in Sydney and Melbourne.

Katsav's trip comes just weeks after a diplomat at Israel's Canberra embassy was ordered out of the country for still unexplained reasons.

Israel and Australia have refused to comment on why the envoy, Amir Laty, was sent home, though media reports suggested it involved espionage.

Laty's departure may also have been linked to his contacts with two suspected Israeli intelligence agents who were convicted in neighboring New Zealand for trying to fraudulently obtain New Zealand passports.

Media reports also revealed that Laty had been close to a daughter of Australian Attorney General Phillip Ruddock, although Ruddock insisted this was unrelated to the diplomat's expulsion.

It was a rare wrinkle in the otherwise close relations between Israel and the Howard government, one of the staunchest supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his policies.

Australia and three small Pacific Island nations were the only countries to join the United States and Israel in voting against a UN resolution last year condemning Israel's construction of a separation wall on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Katsav said over the weekend that the diplomatic incident would not overshadow his visit or impact on Israeli-Australian relations.

"I don't think that this issue with Laty could be any obstacle to cultivate the ties between Australia and Israel," Katsav said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Australian television.

"This matter, this issue, is marginal; it's not had any political significance and I really believe that the same attitude, the same approach, is (coming) from the Australian authorities," he said.

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