Hamas: Dubai assassins were likely Arabs, not Israelis
Inquiry finds murdered Gaza arms smuggler Mahmoud al-Mabhouh had enemies across the Middle East and was wanted by Jordan and Egypt.
By Avi Issacharoff Tags: Hamas Israel newsA preliminary investigation conducted by Hamas suggests that the assassination of one of its officials in Dubai last month was likely carried out by agents of an Arab government, and not by Israel's Mossad spy agency.
When Mahmoud al-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.
But 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.
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.
Hamas also suspects its Palestinian rivals in the West Bank.
"It is quite possible that Palestinian Authority security forces were involved," Osama Hamdan, a Hamas leader in Lebanon, told Hezbollah's television station Al-Manar on Monday.
"West Bank forces are persecuting our fighters and have killed dozens since 1994," he said.
Meanwhile, the Saudi daily Okaz reported on Tuesday that Hamas has decided to halt temporarily negotiations over the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit due to Mabhouh's murder.
A senior Hamas official told the paper that the prisoner swap talks have reached a critical juncture and reiterated the group's stance that Israel is responsible for the delay in its completion.
Details of Mabhouh murder begin to emerge
On Sunday, a Dubai police commander updated the Palestinian consul in the United Arab Emirates on progress in the investigation. Mabhouh was killed by a seven-man team, four whom had been identified, the commander said.
According to Hamas investigators, Mabhouh arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus at 9:00 A.M. on the morning of January 19, where he boarded flight EK912 for the UAE, landing at Dubai at 2:30 P.M.
Local authorities were unaware of the presence of the Hamas leader, who traveled under a false identity. Al-Mabhouh took a taxi to the luxury Al Bustan Rutana Hotel, where he checked into room 130, also under a false name.
As always when traveling, al-Mabhouh had taken the precaution of reserving in advance a room with no balcony and sealed windows. On arrival, he deposited a case of documents in the hotel safe before spending around an hour in his room.
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.
Police say it is likely that Mabhouh answered the door to his assailants - but Hamas believes the attackers awaited him on his return and were warned of his approach by accomplices tailing him.
At 9:30 P.M. Mabhouh's wife called his cellular telephone. There was no answer. Both Hamas and police believe the victim was by then already dead. His body was discovered the following day.
Post mortem examinations revealed signs of electrocution beneath both ears -presumably from a device used to stun Mabhouh, whose nose was bleeding and whose teeth showed signs of abrasion.
Pathologists determined the cause of death as asphyxiation, probably with a pillow found near the body and stained with blood.
Meanwhile, London's Sunday Times reported on Sunday that Mabhouh had been injected with a drug that simulated the effects of a natural heart attack.
Also on Sunday, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi landau denied that Mossad agents had posed as part of his entourage to carry out the hit. Landau, the first Israeli minister to travel officially to the UAE, left the country three days before Mabhouh was killed.
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Slain Hamas official Mahmoud Mabhouh's father holds his photo |
| Photo by: (Reuters) |
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Eric, Hamas doesn't deserve credit for anything. They have vowed to destroy Israel in their charter. Any move now is an attempt to save face and gain credibility in the eyes of the world.
Poor fellow, still trying but failing to decieve The men in white coats are waiting, don't give them a hard time, they're not paid too much
and silly me, i made the mistake of responding to bengaga even though i know how he fixates on the fantasies his delusions create, and is completely incapable of distinguishing them from reality. bengaga, what YOU said has absolutely NOTHING to do with what I said. now if you want to copy and paste what i said, to prove your feebleminded assertion that i claimed it was a majority; then please DO. but i suggest that after you paste it, you might care to save yourself any more embarassment by READING what it says before clicking on the "send" button.
Maybe this will jolt your memory "Eric NM Name: *BEN JABO City: USA State: You sorely need a lesson in math Fifty Congressmen, of 535, which is less than 10% of Congress don`t make a majority, not by any normal form of reasoning, then again, who said you were? In any event, most of the Democrats will be turned out of office comes November mid-term elections It amazes me how you attempt to get away with disinformation, thinking others are sucker enough to believe you "
you delusional. not only did i NOT claim anything about a majority... but NOW you're implying there was some sort of vote or show of hands. there was NO "10% are in favor and 90% opposed"...lol, where'd you dream THAT up from, ben? you're fabricating things again. it was an unofficial, done on the sidelines, letter of petition with 54 signatories, nothing else. there's nothing that even indicates it was circulated to ALL congressional members. try to stay on the same planet as the rest of us, ben...it'll help your credibility(which is STILL virtually nonexistent).
Oh, you conveniently forgot how you took my post to Steve and altered it to suit your devious purposes, saying that the way you changed it was what I really meant to say If you wish, I'll be glad to post your forgery again, just ask 54 Congressmen out of 535 is only 10%, which isn't a majority, the remaining 90% that didn't sign the petition are a Majority Let's say that math and facts aren't your strong points Nobody has to make up stories about you, you're quite adept at outing yourself, I just highlight your defects
you ARE delusional after all. not only did i NOT claim anything about a majority... but NOW you're implying there was some sort of vote or show of hands. there was NO "10% are in favor and 90% opposed"...lol, where'd you dream THAT up from, ben? you're fabricating things again. it was an unofficial, done on the sidelines, letter of petition with 54 signatories, nothing else. there's nothing that even indicates it was circulated to ALL congressional members. try to stay on the same planet as the rest of us, ben...it'll help your credibility.
not only did i NOT claim anything about a majority... but NOW you're implying there was some sort of vote or show of hands. there was NO "10% are in favor and 90% opposed"...lol, where'd you dream THAT up from, ben? you're fabricating things again. it was an unofficial, done on the sidelines, letter of petition with 54 signatories, nothing else. there's nothing that even indicates it was circulated to ALL congressional members. try to stay on the same planet as the rest of us, ben...it'll help your credibility.
Only you would have the temerity (chutzpah) to claim that 54 Congressmen of the 535 in the House, represent a "Majority" It's certain that math wasn't one of your strong points when you went to school When 10% are in favor and 90% opposed, it would seem to any sane person that the 90% are the majority, but whoever said you had all your marbles?
only i'm still in; and you're NOT...if you ever were. and i see you're still making up stories about things i say. either you have absolutely no reading comprehension...or you're a delusional... i think its probably both.
who can blame egypt for being livid? hamas is nothing but a branch of the muslim brotherhood--and it is colluding with shia iran. regards, cipora
..absolutely nothing to do with Schalit.. You are absolutely correct. For as long as Hamas is holding on to Schalit is tormenter on Israel. And where there is even the visibility of tormenter on Israel is already joy, pride & honor for Hamas. This notion is above the would be triple amount of Pal prisoners in Israeli jails. But they have to hold on to him in the `good PR mode`. Make appearance they want the deal, change or up the deal that they know will have Israel back off. On the other hand, Israel backing off or countering Hamas does not look good on Israel, especially for all who are long pained for this whole travesty. Thus when the freedom is supposedly almost tasted and than collapses so many times, the frustration brushes aside the legitimate questions of what had really happened in between and at what price. Thus with more & more time passing by, upping the pressure on Israel to increase the price to whatever it takes, regardless of whatever negatives that may arise.
is to blame Jewish State. Until and only until Israel gets enough courage to blodly go and physically crush Hamas nothing will change. War is either won or it is not a war but a slow tortuous masochism.
So what happened to these 'documents'? They sure hold the secret of this murder mystery.
its memebers have alot of enemies.Arabs always blame Israel instead of looking within their own ranks. An Iraqi women blew up muslim pilgrims. muslims killing muslims. different branches sunni vs shia but still muslims killing muslims. world better wake up
The action has a distinctly clumsy feminine touch, something that normally would suggest a less sophisticated group. However... Israel's security sector has degenerated to the extent that such a signature is not inconsistent with an Israeli hit.
Islamic Jihad, not Hamas, has aleegedly claimed responsibility for those barrels.
of course, like their rocket attacks, these bombs were solely directed at Israeli soldiers, and not the fishermen or Israeli public who use the beaches. What a shame that Hamas considers every Israeli a soldier.
How can anyone know the contents of a suitcase have been photographed if it was left undisturbed...unless they're being blackmailed with the photos??
So sorry Papa Mabhouh. As a result of passing your bad genes to your favorite son, he got bumped-off by your beloved brothers. As the French say :" Souviens toi du vase de Soisson " In arabic :" don't cross me "
No Arab would ever think of raising his hand against a fellow Arab, it's unheard of Except when the bomb or bullet goes off with a loud bang
Nobody really cares what you thought or think, we know your mental abilities are limited and biased In your case, you're merely an onlooker, not a participant Think of yourself as sitting high in the grandstands, never having the guts to get on the field, then complaining how the game is being played I did so like your take on 10% of Congress being a majority, simply forgetting the other 90%
Meshaal sent a letter to the Saudis begging them to intercede to help Hamas reconcile with Fatah. Their political footdragging has gotten them nothing but contempt from the Arab States. Even Qatar is finished with them.
Superjew and I are in agreement. To the anti/israelis/anti-semites who constantly write in, sorry, guys, you won't have israel to kick around any more about this.
just more of the same lies and foot dragging from thugs who think they are special. Makes them think they are in charge of something. May as well be the Capone Gang running Gaza.
I still would like to know how it is that they "know" that the assassins photographed the contents of his suitcase, but there is still a dispute about how they killed him.
I call it the "jenin factor"...which is, an initial story is reported which has tones of anti semitism, and the usual suspects are ready to believe ANYTHING as long as it hurts jews... all the small people like durson, labrhas, dutch, lincoln, sivlienne, they all rush to come here, frothing at the mouth...THEN, the PROOF starts to leak out that the story was false and the "facts" were erroneous and guess what? the so called usual people, like durson labrhas, silvienne, and much of the euro and mainstream media are nowhere to be found...remember jenin? retractions were all on page '49' etc...not front page news like when the false story broke which of course is always supplied by the lying palestinians and is so ready to be believed by the rabid anti semite crowd...anyone notice none of these characters are now here in this thread? now that is what I call proof these people are decidely anti semites, as much as they try to deny it.
Those two are blowing up each other for a thousand year . It cost countless lives and will continue forever . In Islam it called an open forum in exchange of ideas, like a round-table discussions .
that it was an Israeli job . This is what I call preconceived notion against Israel . This preconceived mentality applied in every case when Israel is in question . Many on this talk-back have never met a guilty Arab in their lifetime . Double standard of being guilty before anything is known or proven .
What is the use or reason to slip in the blurb about the Shalit negotiations ? I did wonder that there was no talk about Shalit for a couple of weeks but as most of us feel now, Shalit is in for the long haul .Hamas cannot do 3 things at the same time let alone finish one thing.
I wonder whether the contents of the suitcase were really photographed. Why should they be.? Unless, certain ME Governments were compromised. If so then the suitcase and its contents should have been taken, unless, aha,.. we have the suitcase remaining with other documents that would be less incriminating to certain Regimes. Obviously, the truth will never become public knowledge of the purported information of said documents. The manner of which this wanted terrorist died, proves that he was terminated by contract, for information was not gleaned through torture. Killing him in a hotel room was rather in order to obtain said suitcase. I wonder where the documents are.? So the plot thickens. Another job for Mr.Poirot. Good day.
You say that Hamas can be trusted. Does that apply to Hamas's claim that all of the thousands of rockets it fired into Israel prior to Operation Cast Lead were not aimed at killing and maiming Jewish civilians but were directed exclusively at military targets? If you believe that, then it proves that the principal victims of "taqqiyah" are other Muslims.
Hamas is paradoxically quite scientific in its investigations and if they find that the assasins are not mossad, they say this, unlike many other radical islamist organizations. As Efraim Halevy says, Hamas are not very nice people but they are quite trustable.
It's almost as if someone has been sending them progress reports. Bizarre is the only word I can think of.
Mabhouh lived a lavish life, staying at ritzy hotels, while smuggling arms to kill Israeli children. Egypt wanted him, Jordan wanted him, and Hamas itself is saying this wasn't done by the Mossad, but by Arabs. So why must Schalit pay the price? Just in case, the Pavlov reflex of blaming the Jews?
the antisemites blame everything on the Jews (except all the positive things Jews have done)!
If the perps were proven to be brother Arabs "boo"?? How old are you?
personally, and i said it in posts to two previous stories on this, i never thought israel was behind it...especially not as part of landau entourage. but hey! shouldn't you at least give a little credit to hamas for speaking right out and withdrawing their previous assumption about israel?...lol...or is that too much for you to muster? boo...errrr, i mean bye, peters!
of their hypocrisy. Human rights etc suddenly who cares?
his daughter? If it WAS Arabs will they issue warrants for their arrest? Some justice system!
Do they feel stupid for popping off against Israel by reflex? Or are they too stupid to feel stupid?
hamas is considered a traitor by many arab regimes. these regimes do not want an iranian proxy operating right in their front yard.
Like with the ewxplosive barrels that were dropped on Israels beach. they have avenged for over 80 years. on their own people.
I had assumed as much. Here's hoping that Mossad wouldn't make such a sloppy job of something like this
You owe Israel an apology. We're waitng....