Jerusalem, February 21: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised Mossad, the country’s spy agency, to kill senior Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mahbouh in Dubai, a media report claimed today.
Based on information obtained from “sources with knowledge of Mossad,”?London-based Sunday Times reported that Netanyahu gave green light for the ‘Dubai operation’ to Mossad chief Meir Dagan during a meeting at the Midrasha, the intelligence agency’s headquarters, in early January.
Times said when Netanyahu was briefed about the operation some members of a hit squad were also present in the room.
“As the man who gives final authorisation for such operations, Netanyahu was briefed on plans to kill Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a member of Hamas, the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza,” the newspaper reported.
It said Mossad had received intelligence that Mabhouh was planning a trip to Dubai and they were preparing an operation to assassinate him there, off-guard in a luxury hotel.
–PTI