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Israel 'assassinates' Hamas commander in Dubai

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Israel 'assassinates' Hamas commander in Dubai - Telegraph

Raising the prospect of renewed Palestinian-Israeli violence, the Islamist movement promised to retaliate for the alleged killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Described as one of the founders of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, Mr Mabhouh was found dead in his Dubai hotel room on January 20.

Although a Palestinian news agency reported that the militant had died of cancer, security officials in the Emirate were quoted as saying that his body showed signs of a violent death.

In line with official policy, there was no response from Israel or its overseas intelligence agency Mossad, which has carried out a number of overseas assassinations in the past.

Police in Dubai said that they have identified several "European passport holders" as suspects - travel to Dubai is prohibited for Israeli passport holders - and that preliminary investigations indicated he was murdered by "a professional criminal gang".

Mabhouh is certainly the type of militant that Israel would have had in its sights.

According to Hamas, he was behind the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989 and is said to have played a leading role in bypassing an Israeli military blockade to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip, which has been under Hamas control since 2007.

Mabhouh had been in Dubai for three days. Although he slept with a chair under the handle of his door, his assassins managed to break in.
His brother Fayeq said: "The first results of a joint investigation by Hamas and the Emirates show he was killed by an electrical appliance that was held to his head.

"He was then strangled with pieces of cloth."

Hamas said it delayed announcing Mabhouh's death while it tried to catch his assassins and waited for forensic evidence.
Mabhouh had been living in Syria, where the Hamas political leadership is based, since 1989.

As several thousand mourners gathered at his funeral in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk on the edge of Damascus on Friday, Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, promised revenge.

"I say to you Zionists: Do not rejoice," he said. "You killed him but his sons will fight you. God already took our leaders and loved ones, but resistance goes on. Palestine is a blessed land. It will not remain patient."

If Israel was behind the fighter's death, it is potentially taking a significant risk.

Yet even though Israel would not want to jeopardise negotiations over the fate of soldier Gilad Shalit, held hostage since 2006, past experience may have encouraged the gamble, observers say.
Although it vowed revenge, Hizbollah is yet to retaliate and, needing a successful prisoner swap to bolster its waning popularity in Gaza, Hamas has already signalled it does not want to abandon a deal with Israel despite Mabhouh's death.

Last March, Sulim Yamadayev, a former Chechen rebel, was shot dead in a Dubai underground parking lot.

Dubai is a peaceful place, foreign countries should take their fight elsewhere.
 
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Not familiar with Israel logic, unable to give any solid comments.
But without absolute evidence, let just leave it, concluding without facts...
its unfair towards Israel.

That's all i can say.
 
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Hamas inquiry blames Arab governments for Mabhouh killing

Gregg Carlstrom | February 2, 2010 8:39 AM

Ha'aretz says a preliminary inquiry -- conducted by Hamas -- concluded that Arab governments, and not the Mossad, are behind the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month.

... details of a Hamas inquiry passed to Haaretz reveal that Arab states, not Israel, now top the suspect list. Both Hamas and Dubai police say that Mabhouh had enemies across the Middle East, any of whom may have had a motive for his murder.

Obligatory caveat: The paper doesn't say how it obtained the inquiry report. But I've heard several variations of this theory in the last few days -- either that Mabhouh, a weapons smuggler, was killed in an arms deal gone bad; or that one of his many enemies knocked him off.

The Hamas inquiry also includes a timeline of Mabhouh's trip to Dubai. He arrived on a flight from Damascus on Jan. 19, according to investigators, traveling under a false identity; he checked into the Al-Bustan Rotana hotel using a false name. Then he left the hotel for a brief meeting.

Between 4:30 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. al-Mabhouh left the hotel for a meeting. Hamas claims to know the identity of his Dubai contact - but has so far kept details under wraps.

Hamas assumes that he dined outside the hotel, which has no record of him ordering food or drink, before returning to his room at around 9:00 P.M.

Mabhouh's wife called his mobile phone at 9:30 p.m. and didn't receive an answer -- so the inquiry assumes he was already dead by then.

Dubai police still haven't named their suspects, but a police commander said on Sunday that Mabhouh was killed by a "seven-man team," four of whom have been identified.
Mabhouh killing derails Shalit talks

If the Hamas inquiry is true, it exonerates Israel -- and it also seems unlikely to convince anyone: There's a widely-held perception in the region that the Mossad is responsible for Mabhouh's killing.

Mabhouh's killing already led Hamas to "indefinitely" cancel the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap talks (عربي) with Israel, according to the Saudi daily Okaz. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior figure in the political wing of Hamas, declared the talks a failure (عربي).

And Israel, worried about reprisals, has reportedly tightened security (عربي) at dozens of embassies around the world. The Qassam Brigades -- the military wing of Hamas -- have vowed revenge for Mabhouh's "assassination." IDF commanders, worried that Hamas might try to kidnap Israeli soldiers, have ordered "increased vigilance."

Hamas inquiry blames Arab governments for Mabhouh killing - The Majlis
 
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How was he killed? Usually its not easy to get away from a crime like murder in a place like UAE.
 
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As per the preliminary investigation and reports of Dubai police he was suffocated by a pillow and showed signs of suffocation. Also after the crime "Do Not Disturb" sign was put on the door of the room by the gang. However some media reports say he was poisoned.

Furthermore, as per official sources in Dubai, he (Mabhouh) entered the country on a different passport ( passport of a different country) than his normal passport and therefore he was not recognized. As since he was one of the seniors leader of a palestinian group, he would definately had been provided security by state security had they been informed of his visit prior to his arrival or had the authorities in UAE resognized him.

The Dubai police chief has also blamed his death on the group (Hamas) he belonged to, as they did not provide him enough security or did not inform of his arrival in UAE prior to his arrival.

As per Dubai Police Chief, he will soon reveal the details of the culprits involved in the murder. So wait for some additonal official info in coming days.
 
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I think there is no doubt on this...

There seem to be at least three stories floating arround and little fact, so far he has supposedly been strangled, suffocated with a pillow, poisoned and electrocuted. If it was mosad it would seem to have been a sloppy job compared to their usual efficiency.

Despite the Israeli's usual no comment policy there is one source saying that it was not an Israeli opperation. Though i am sure they are happy he is dead there are roumors he was skimming his arms deals which would have given both Hamas and his suppliers reason to be angry. As well Fata would take any chance it can get to weaken Hamas and the idea of this guy traveling with out any protection sounds incredably risky.

I guess we will probably never know who.
 
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I think the Mossad prefers bombs and gunshots - twice to the head. This man was traveling under a false name, right? If the Mossad was clever enough to winkle out his false name and hotel room, I don't see why they couldn't have broken into the hotel room and killed him point-blank.

I lean towards the police explanation on this one: it was probably a criminal gang. The stories about cancer or Israel were meant to eliminate embarrassment and give meaning to his death, respectively.
 
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Report: Assassins of Hamas official used Irish passports

By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, 22:23 05/02/2010

The assassins of senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was found dead January 20 in Dubai, traveled to the Gulf country using Irish passports, according to a report in the Irish Herald.

Up to seven people were said to have been involved in Mabhouh's killing, four of whom used Irish passports to enter Dubai and who later fled to a "European country" after the killing, police sources in Dubai told the newspaper.

Earlier this week, a preliminary investigation conducted by Hamas suggested that the assassination was likely carried out by agents of an Arab government, and not by Israel's Mossad spy agency.

When Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official reportedly behind the smuggling of Iranian arms to Gaza, was found dead in his hotel room on January 20, the organization was quick to point the finger at Israeli intelligence, vowing revenge attacks.

Dubai police on Thursday said an arrest warrant could be issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Israel is found to have been involved in the killing.

However, both Hamas and Dubai police have said that Mabhouh had enemies across the Middle East, any of whom may have had a motive for his murder.

A Hamas source told Haaretz on Monday that Mabhouh was wanted by authorities in both Jordan and Egypt, where he previously spent a year in prison.
 
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Dubai police on Thursday said an arrest warrant could be issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Israel is found to have been involved in the killing.

Yep...the Arabs done it. Veiled slap to Iran and a pat on the back from just about everybody.
 
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Security and Defense: Espionage, with a smile

By YAAKOV KATZ
07/02/2010 21:34

Whether the Mossad actually assassinated senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh may not really matter.

The smiles said it all. As ministers made their way down the hall of the Prime Minister’s Office to the cabinet room on Sunday – flanked on one side by reporters – they couldn’t stop smiling.

“All the security services make, thank God, great efforts to safeguard the security of the State of Israel,” Interior Minister Eli Yishai told the reporters with a smirk on his face.

Science and Technology Minister Daniel Herschkowitz added that Mossad chief Meir Dagan was one of the best directors of the espionage agency ever.

“My impression is that the Mossad knows how to get the job done, and it is a known thing that anyone who lifts a hand against a Jew is putting his life on the line,” Herschkowitz said.

The comments were made in response to questions about the veracity of Hamas claims that the Mossad was behind the assassination in late January of one of the group’s chief operatives, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai. News of the assassination – caused according to different reports by strangulation, electrocution or poison – was only announced last Friday.

Israel has of course not taken responsibility for the assassination, but at the same time it has also not denied reports of its involvement.

The reason is quite simple. While the question of Israel’s involvement in the assassination will likely remain a mystery for many years to come, it does directly benefit from the world believing the Mossad was responsible due to the boost it gives its deterrence.

“Let them think we did it, even if we didn’t,” said one defense official.

Until his assassination, Mabhouh was not a household name in Israel or the Gaza Strip. According to one former Mossad official, he was mostly known throughout the defense establishment for his involvement in the 1989 kidnappings and murders of IDF soldiers Ilan Sa’adon and Avi Sasportas, two of the first kidnappings carried out by the terror group.

During his time in Damascus, Mabhouh established strong ties in Sudan which were used by Hamas to smuggle weaponry from Iran into the Gaza Strip. One of the more well-known smuggling routes is from Eritrea, into Sudan, through the Sinai Peninsula and then through one of the hundreds of tunnels along the Philadelphi corridor.

One report claimed that Mabhouh was behind the weapons convoy bombed as it was making its way to Gaza through the Sudanese desert during Operation Cast Lead. This convoy was believed to be carrying long-range missiles that could reach Tel Aviv. Hamas eventually obtained the missiles, likely thanks in part to Mabhouh,

If carried out by Israel, the two assassinations cannot be viewed as isolated incidents in the war on terrorism, but are part of a larger battle that the country is waging against the Iranian-led axis.

Security and Defense: Espionage, with a smile
 
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