Abu Dhabi, March 01: People travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are suspected of having Israeli citizenship will not be allowed to enter the country regardless of what passport they hold, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim said Monday.
Tamim made the remarks on the sidelines of an international security conference in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, The National, a local English daily, reported on its website.
The police previously allowed Israelis who hold dual citizenship to enter the UAE using their other passport, he said, adding that they would now deny entry to anyone who they suspect to have Israeli citizenship.
According to Tamim, it would be up to the police to develop skills to identify a person to be Israeli by physical features and the way he/she speaks.
Dubai police have said they are virtually certain that Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad was behind the assassination of senior Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January, but Israel has said there was no hard proof that the country carried out the killing.
Al-Mabhouh, a senior commander of Hamas military wing the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was found dead in his hotel room on Jan. 20, a day after he arrived in Dubai. He was wanted by the Israeli government in connection with the kidnappings of two Israeli soldiers in 1989.
On Feb. 15, Tamim said 11 European passport holders are suspected to have been involved in the killing of al-Mabhouh. Dubai police on Wednesday released a new list of 15 names and photos of people allegedly involved in the assassination.
European nations assisting in the investigation have indicated to Dubai police that the passports were issued in an illegal and fraudulent manner, saying the pictures on the travel documents did not correspond to the original owners.
——Agencies