On July 15, 2004, New Zealand imposed diplomatic sanctions against Israel and suspended high-level contacts between the two countries, after two of its citizens, Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara, were convicted of passport fraud. The New Zealand government stated that there was strong evidence that the two men were Mossad agents and this action was “not only utterly unacceptable but also a breach of New Zealand sovereignty and international law”. On 26 June 2005 the Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom sent a letter of apology to the New Zealand government. Diplomatic relations were fully re-established on 30 August 2005 when the Governor-General accepted the credentials of ambassador Naftali Tamir.

Relations with France
New Zealand has always had excellent relations with France, which recently thanked New Zealand for helping it during German occupations of World War I and II. The relations were strained for a short period in the late 20th Century, however over the French nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.