New Zealand's condemnation of Israel in 2004, following the arrest of two Israelis suspected of being Mossad agents, might have been intended to increase their exporting to Arab countries. US diplomats estimated that a woolly bounty was on the agenda – lamb.

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A confidential cable published by WikiLeaks and published by the British Guardian on Tuesday contains a report by US diplomats to the State Department, on the arrest of two Israelis in New Zealand in March of 2004. The two, Eli Kara, 50, and Uri Zusha Kelman, 30, were arrested after attempting to acquire fake passports, coming under suspicion of being Mossad agents posing as tourists.

The two were later convicted after confessing they had tried to obtain falsified documents. After Israel refused to apologize to New Zealand, the Wellington government cooled its diplomatic relations with the state, and a year went by before they were restored.





The cable published by WikiLeaks

According to leaked cable, US diplomats disparaged New Zealand's reaction and accused its government of grandstanding in order to sell more lamb to Arab countries.

New Zealand's then-prime minister, Helen Clark, said after the arrests: "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."

However, according to the leaked cables, US officials in Wellington said New Zealand had "little to lose" from the breakdown in diplomatic relations with Israel and was instead merely trying to bolster its exports to Arab states.

In a confidential document written in July 2004, after New Zealand imposed severe sanctions on Israel, it read: "The GoNZ (government of New Zealand) has little to lose by such stringent action, with limited contact and trade with Israel, and possibly something to gain in the Arab world, as the GoNZ is establishing an embassy in Egypt and actively pursuing trade with Arab states."

Another cable sent a couple of days later said: "Its overly strong reaction to Israel over this issue suggests the GNZ sees this flap as an opportunity to bolster its credibility with the Arab community, and by doing so, perhaps, help NZ lamb and other products gain greater access to a larger and more lucrative market."