Dubai, February 19: Dubai’s police chief on Thursday said the hand of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al Mabhouh was likely and, if proven, called for the arrest of its head.
An image released by Dubai Police shows the 11 people suspected of killing Hamas militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a luxury hotel in Dubai last month. 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.- Reuters (Watch Video)
On a day of brisk developments, Al Mabhouh’s killing snowballed into an international diplomatic headache as Israel refused to budge from its position of ambiguity over suspected involvement.
Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said, “A red notice (should be) issued against the head of Mossad as a killer, in case it is proved to be behind the crime, which is likely now.”
The Interpol has already issued red alerts to its 189 member countries for the arrest of the 11 suspects, the police chief said.
He added that all a particulars had been furnished and was confident of cooperation from the four countries on whose passports the hit squad entered the UAE.
Six of the 11 suspects held British passports, three Irish, one French and one German when they entered the UAE. Khalfan said the diplomatic mission of each of these countries had agreed to assist from their end.
Ireland, France and Germany joined Britain in summoning Israeli envoys to “demand explanation” over how seven Israeli nationals had used passports reportedly issued by their countries.
It followed Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman averment on Wednesday that men with the same names as seven of the 11 suspects lived in Israel, but insisted their identities had been stolen. “There is no reason to think it was the Israeli Mossad and not some other intelligence service or country up to some mischief,” Liberman told Army Radio.
However, matters got compounded when Lieberman refused to deny outright Israeli involvement, saying his country had a “policy of ambiguity” in intelligence matters.
“We are demanding explanations from the Israeli embassy in France of the circumstances of the use of a false French passport in the killing of a Hamas member in Dubai,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters in Paris.
“Elements in our possession led us to the conclusion that the passport in question was a fake,” Valero said.
“We are in regular contact with the authorities in Dubai on the progress of the investigation,” he said.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expects full cooperation from Israel in the investigations launched jointly with Dubai. “We hope and expect that they will cooperate fully,” he said in London.
“We want to get to the bottom of the issue of the fraudulent passports, or their potential use,” Miliband added, after Israeli envoy Ron Prosor held talks with Peter Ricketts, the head of Britain’s diplomatic service.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed on Wednesday there would be a “full investigation” into the use of six fake British passports in the killing of the Hamas commander.
Meanwhile, Austrian authorities are investigating whether the killers of Al Mabhouh used Austrian phone numbers to plan their hit, the interior minister said on Thursday.
“Apparently, Austrian phone numbers were used,” ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia told . “But we can’t say anything further. The investigations are under way and we’re in contact with Dubai police.”
–Agencies