- Join the France 24 community here
- Log in
REUTERS - Israel's foreign minister said on Wednesday the use of the identities of foreign-born Israelis by a hit squad suspected of killing a Hamas militant in Dubai did not prove the Mossad spy agency assassinated him.
"There is no reason to think that it was the Israeli Mossad, and not some other intelligence service or country up to some mischief," Avigdor Lieberman, asked about the operation and alleged passport subterfuge, told Army Radio.
But Lieberman did not deny outright Israeli involvement in the killing of Hamas's Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel last month, saying Israel has a "policy of ambiguity" on intelligence matters and there was no proof it was behind the assassination.
Men with the same names as seven of the 11 suspects whose European passport photos were distributed by Dubai live in Israel, and those reached by reporters insisted their identities had been stolen and noted the pictures were not a match.
Six of the men are Britons who immigrated to Israel. The seventh is an American-Israeli, whose name Dubai said was on a German passport used by one of the assassins.
Some Israeli commentators on intelligence matters suggested the Mossad may have blundered -- if it carried out the attack and had hoped to keep its involvement secret -- by using the identities of people who could be traced back to Israel.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas has blamed Israel for the assassination, and Dubai police have said they could not rule out Israeli involvement.
A security source in Israel said the target, Mabhouh, played a key role in smuggling Iranian-funded arms to Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip. Hamas confirmed the information.
Dubai said it issued international arrest warrants for all suspects, who also include Irish and French passport holders. A government source said six other people, not yet identified, were also believed to be involved.
Fakes
As the mystery over suspects' identities deepened, Britain and Ireland said they believed the British and Irish passports used by the alleged killers were fake.
In the radio interview, Lieberman shrugged off any prospect of diplomatic problems with Britain over suspicions a Mossad team had used counterfeit British passports.
"I think Britain recognises that Israel is a responsible country and that our security activity is conducted according to very clear, cautious and responsible rules of the game. Therefore we have no cause for concern," he said.
Hit squads dispatched by Mossad have used foreign passports in the past, notably in 1997 when agents entered Jordan on Canadian passports and bungled an attempt to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal with poison.
In 1987, Britain protested to Israel about what London called the misuse by Israeli authorities of forged British passports and said it received assurances steps had been taken to prevent future occurrences.
The documents, Britain's Sunday Tines reported at the time, were found in a telephone booth in West Germany and were to have been picked up by a Mossad agent.
Related Content
Breaking news from the MIDDLE EAST
‘Darth Vader’ demands free land from Ukrainian government
Browse all editions
FRANCE 24 PARTNERS
Comments (3)
Good
He deserved what was given to him..Good job
DUBAI MURDER
I feel very sorry for dubai police and intelligence agiencies for failing to note the plan and the murder of a hamas official.
To blame israel on this issue i feel its pointless, because it may be possible that the murder was planned even by Hamas itself.There are still so many questions which need some answers before we can point a fingure at Israel.Why was he travelling alone? Who inforned Israel about the trip? I understand that even bookings for ahotel were made aday before his arrival, how did Israel Know about the hotel. all these questions can point back to where the victim was comming from and that is Hamas.For those suspects my questions are: is it a crime to follow someone in Dubai? a team of evelen is a large number,why did the Dubai police fail to take note of that,dont they have detective equipment in their hotels?
My conclusion is Dubai and Hamas planned to kill the Victim, there is no way eleven people from outside the country can enter a country for operation unnoticed. for a mission like that two people were enough, why eleven? So i feel Dubai government and Hamas should explain to the world about the death, for the passports thats not an issue, i feel it is a game of Dubai Intelligence inorder to damage israel reputation
Regards.
Charles
Spy agencies are the same of a terror cell
Both, spy agencies and terror cells, have the same modus-operandum, behind the shadows and appointing only to kill people.
Post new comment