In response to a report filed by a UN investigative team regarding diamond smuggling into Israel from the Ivory Coast, Diamond Controller and the entity responsible for implementation of the Kimberley Process in Israel, Shmuel Mordechai, stated that the UN team visited Israel twice in recent years. Unequivocal proof was provided that Israel has never dealt in rough diamond trade from the Ivory Coast or any other country that is not a member of the Kimberley Process.



Through Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the Diamond Controller presented all of the data requested in order to expedite the inquiry and provided any information requested during the team’s visit to Israel.



Shmuel Mordechai emphatically insisted: “We are shocked by these false accusations and completely refute them. Israel has been a member of the Kimberley Process, which was established to eradicate illegal trade in rough diamonds, since the day of its inception. We enforce a strict supervisory and enforcement system as is fitting for a world leader of the diamond trade.”



An Israeli delegation headed by Mr. Boaz Hirsch, assistant managing director of foreign trade and head of international activity at Israel’s Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor, will shortly set out for Namibia in order to attend the annual international conference of the Kimberley Process plenum between November 2-5, 2009.



At the conference Israel will lodge an official complaint against its inclusion in a list of countries that allegedly deal in conflict diamonds.