Dubai is hunting 11 Europeans for the murder of a top Hamas leader in a hotel room last month as speculations are growing over Israel’s Mossad involvement in the killing, The Times reported Tuesday, February 16.
“We do not rule out Mossad,” Dubai police chief Lt. Gen. Dhafi Khalfan, told a press conference.
“But when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it.”
Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, 50, was found dead in a Dubai hotel last month after being shocked by an electrical appliance.
Dubai police said that 11 people with British, Irish, German and French passports were involved in the killing.
"We have no doubts that it was 11 people holding these passports, and we regret that they used the travel documents of friendly countries," Lt. Gen. Khalfan said.
CCTV footage showed the group entering the hotel where the Hamas leader was staying.
At one point the men appear to don wigs and false beards.
The police chief said Mabhouh was tracked by his killers who had reserved a room across the hall from his in the hotel.
The killers tried to force open his door but it was unclear whether they managed to enter or waited until he opened it for them.
"He was strangled after receiving maybe an electric shock," he said, adding that the killers had left Dubai in the hours following the murder.
The police chief said that two Palestinians who aided the death squad have been arrested.
Mossad Way
A former Mossad agent confirmed that the Israeli secret service regularly uses foreign passports for travel on secret missions.
“Sometimes these were legitimate passports of people who held dual citizenship, other times they were acquired,” the agent told The Times.
“An Israeli passport raises red flags and is best avoided.”
Israeli agents have been responsible for numerous assassinations in Europe and across the Middle East in the past four decades, often posing as foreigners.
In 2004, New Zealand accused the Mossad of securing their country’s passports through the Israeli Embassy in Australia.
During a trial in Auckland, allegations also surfaced that Mossad was using Canadian passports.
"Israel carries out a lot of assassinations in many countries, even in countries that it is allied to," said Lt. Gen. Khalfan, the Dubai police chief.
Over the years, a number of Hamas leaders have died in operations Israel calls "targeted killings."
In 2004, Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli helicopter gunship attack in Gaza.
One month later, another Hamas leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, was killed when two missiles hit his car.
In 1997, Israeli agents tried to poison Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal in Amman.
“We do not rule out Mossad,” Dubai police chief Lt. Gen. Dhafi Khalfan, told a press conference.
“But when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it.”
Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, 50, was found dead in a Dubai hotel last month after being shocked by an electrical appliance.
Dubai police said that 11 people with British, Irish, German and French passports were involved in the killing.
"We have no doubts that it was 11 people holding these passports, and we regret that they used the travel documents of friendly countries," Lt. Gen. Khalfan said.
CCTV footage showed the group entering the hotel where the Hamas leader was staying.
At one point the men appear to don wigs and false beards.
The police chief said Mabhouh was tracked by his killers who had reserved a room across the hall from his in the hotel.
The killers tried to force open his door but it was unclear whether they managed to enter or waited until he opened it for them.
"He was strangled after receiving maybe an electric shock," he said, adding that the killers had left Dubai in the hours following the murder.
The police chief said that two Palestinians who aided the death squad have been arrested.
Mossad Way
A former Mossad agent confirmed that the Israeli secret service regularly uses foreign passports for travel on secret missions.
“Sometimes these were legitimate passports of people who held dual citizenship, other times they were acquired,” the agent told The Times.
“An Israeli passport raises red flags and is best avoided.”
Israeli agents have been responsible for numerous assassinations in Europe and across the Middle East in the past four decades, often posing as foreigners.
In 2004, New Zealand accused the Mossad of securing their country’s passports through the Israeli Embassy in Australia.
During a trial in Auckland, allegations also surfaced that Mossad was using Canadian passports.
"Israel carries out a lot of assassinations in many countries, even in countries that it is allied to," said Lt. Gen. Khalfan, the Dubai police chief.
Over the years, a number of Hamas leaders have died in operations Israel calls "targeted killings."
In 2004, Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli helicopter gunship attack in Gaza.
One month later, another Hamas leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, was killed when two missiles hit his car.
In 1997, Israeli agents tried to poison Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal in Amman.
