LONDON Britain said Tuesday it was expelling an Israeli diplomat over the 'intolerable use of fake British passports in the killing of a Hamas military commander in Dubai. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, in his statement to the House of Commons, said there are 'compelling reasons to believe Israel is behind the cloned British passports used by the alleged killers of a Hamas official in Dubai. David Miliband told MPs: Given that this was a very sophisticated operation, in which high-quality forgeries were made, the government judges it highly likely that the forgeries were made by a state intelligence service. Taking this together with other inquiries and the link to Israel established by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), we have concluded there are compelling reasons to believe Israel was responsible for the misuse of the British passports, he said. While announcing the results of an investigation by the SOCA into the abuse of British passports in the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhouh, which implicated Israel, Miliband said the misuse of British passports was 'intolerable, adding that the Foreign Office would amend its travel advice to 'alert other British nationals to the risks that their passports might be misused in the same way. Miliband also confirmed that a member of the Israeli Embassy was being expelled from the UK at his request. Milibands statement widely is seen around the world as the first definitive allegation of Israeli responsibility for the murder from a Western government, but there was a partial blackout in the pro-Israeli British media. The expelled official is not being accused of direct personal involvement, officials said. The unusual step is intended as a gesture to reflect British anger. In 1986, a Mossad agent left an Israeli Embassy envelope containing eight forged British passports in a German telephone box. Israeli diplomats were only expelled a year later after a Palestinian working as an Israeli double agent was found with a cache of weapons in Hull. Margaret Thatcher also closed down Mossads London base. Mabhouh was assassinated in his hotel room in Dubai on January 19 by a group of killers wearing fake beards, wigs and other disguises. Dubai officials said they were 99 per cent certain that Mossad agents were behind the murder but Israel has refused to confirm or deny the link. The SOCA detectives reportedly flew to Israel three weeks ago to interview the dual British-Israeli nationals whose identities were used in the killings. It is understood the officers attempted to interview Israeli govt officials but were given only 'limited cooperation, according to one Whitehall source. A file was prepared by the officers, and sent to the Home Office last week. It had since been forwarded to the Foreign Office. Last month, Dubai identified the use of another six fake British passports with the names of Mark Daniel Sklar, Roy Allan Cannon, Daniel Marc Schnur, Philip Carr, Stephen Keith Drake and Gabriella Barney. A Foreign Office spokesman said the government believed their passport details had been used fraudulently. A total of 12 British passport holders have now been named. Agencies add: Miliband told lawmakers, I have asked that a member of the embassy of Israel be withdrawn from the UK as a result of this affair (use of fake British passports in Mabhouh murder), and this is taking place. Miliband strongly condemned Israel over the 'intolerable counterfeiting of British passports. The SOCA had established that the 12 British passport-holders identified by Dubai police were 'wholly innocent victims of identity theft, he added. The Government takes this matter extremely seriously. Such misuse of British passports is intolerable. According to the Daily Telegraph, a senior diplomat at the Israeli Embassy in London - widely believed to be a member of Mossad, the feared Israeli secret service agency - is being expelled from the Untied Kingdom as a result. As the diplomatic row escalated, Miliband told the House of Commons that he had demanded that the Israeli government give assurances that British citizens will never again be drawn into such an operation. Miliband said: The request for an individual to leave, and the decision of the Israelis to accede to that, was made by us. It was linked ... to the investigations that have taken place. Weve been very clear with the Israelis about the basis which we were asking the individual to leave. Reacting to the expulsion, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said: The relationship between Israel and Britain is mutually important. We, therefore, regret the British decision. Members of the Israeli parliament likened the British government to anti-Semitic dogs and demanded the expulsion of Britains military attachT in Tel Aviv after erupting in fury over the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat in London. I think the British are being hypocritical and I do not wish to insult dogs here, since some dogs show true loyalty [but] who gave the British the right to judge us on the war on terror? said Arieh Eldad, a right-wing member of the Knesset. The canine theme was taken up by a second MP, Michael Ben-Ari, who said: Dogs are usually loyal, the British may be dogs, but they are not loyal to us. They seem to be loyal to the anti-Semitic establishment. We have learned that a dog must be called by its name. This is anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism.