LONDON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The head of Israeli intelligence is drafting an apology to London for using fake British passports in a January hit on a Hamas leader in Dubai, insiders say.
According to Israeli intelligence officers who spoke to London's Telegraph newspaper on condition of anonymity, Tamir Pardo, the head of Israel's Mossad, is drafting letters to British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Home Secretary Theresa May.
The measure is aimed at repairing bilateral ties between the Israeli and British governments.
Fake British passports were among those allegedly used in the January assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Palestinian national who founded the militant wing of Hamas. He was discovered dead in a Dubai hotel in January.
Dubai police said 12 British, six Irish, four French, three Australian and one German passports were connected to suspects in the Mabhouh assassination.
The British government at the time of the assassination said suspected Israeli intelligence officers showed "profound disregard" for British sovereignty in the Hamas hit.
Pardo is expected to tell British authorities in January his officers won't use British passports during sensitive operations, the Telegraph adds. The newspaper states that drafting the letters marks the first time Mossad has acknowledged a link to Mabhouh.
German officials tied the Mossad to a German passport linked by Interpol to the Dubai assassination.
More than 30 people are wanted by Interpol in connection to the Mabhouh assassination.
