Australia is to expel an Israeli diplomat after investigators said Israel was responsible for forging four Australian passports used in the killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai, it emerged today.

NO records exist of the three alleged Irish nationals Dubai police have claimed were members of a group that assassinated a senior Hamas official last month.

Egyptian authorities today said they have arrested an engineer from the country’s nuclear energy agency for spying for Israel.

ISRAELI army sharpshooters took up positions overlooking Yasser Arafat’s compound yesterday amid reports some militants had slipped out after troops aborted a siege under US pressure.