Mossad is supposed to gather intelligence, not sow death

This text is right on the money. Seeing as this is the way Mossad operates, fewer are to draw a distinction between them and Hamas. This isn't the Mossad that captured Eichman and it will reflect on Israel as a state, in the same manner CIA's black op sites reflected on the USA. I think Israel can do better and don't think the public opinion cannot sway. Israel cannot play the Holocaust victim anymore. Its over. Your own actions are blurring the line between them and you, and are giving legitimacy to their operations. Don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough.

Marat, you have obviously no clue about Islam and the Quran. Do your research before you write nonsense like that.

I can believe you can write something as bizarre as this: "We can also continue ignoring, as is our wont, the motive for terrorism: the Israeli occupation." I can only assume that you agree that Israel's very existence constitutes "occupation." Sir, Islamic Terror is extant in some **15** or so nations around the world. Duh...it is Koranic fascism that drives Terror, not occupation. MANY Buddhist monks self-immolated during the Vietnam War, in protest of that war. To my knowledge, not a SINGLE ONE TOOK ANYONE ELSE WITH THEM. Islam will seek to destroy the Jews because that is part of its Koranic mandate. The Koran is rife with Jew hatred and calls for their murder. Its as natural a calling to a Fundamentalist Muslim as believing it was necessary to kill your own son or daughter because the family "honor" was disgraced. How can you write something so obviously fatuous??

garbage pail of history, you go.

'We can ... continue ignoring, as is our wont, the motive for terrorism: the Israeli occupation.' Mr Levy, Israel's enemies consider the 'Israeli occupation' not only to be that of the West Bank, but of Israel proper: every square inch inside the Green Line! You fail completely to understand this simplest and most essential of facts, sir. Your very existence offends them. Terrorism against the Jews, and by extension, against Israel, began long before the 1967 occupation, and will continue long after the occupation has ended. Its reason for existence is not the rational one you proclaim, but irrational, deep-seated, and wholely hateful - which half the world seems content to tolerate, and even applaud. You are staring down the barrel of a very long gun, made in Iran, and aimed at you by Hizbullah, Hamas, and other Arab and Muslim organisations. Fight back or die, sir. There is no other choice. MV

So what would you do if you had a gun and an Arab was about to shoot your mother? Write an article about how terrible it is that you are forced to make a moral choice? Our enemies are doing everything in their power to destroy us. We must do everything in our power to destroy them. You are alive because Mossad was able to stop terrorists from bombing your favorite pizza store or coffee shop.

one could conclude that the Warsaw Ghetto fighters shouldn't have fought back. He still thinks like a Dhimmi.

....didn't make it through yesterday, but after reading Haaretz this morning, the whole matter seems to be pretty much closed, with the Mossad itself more or less openly admitting that they were behind it !! Have a very nice day...:)

intelligence agencies? What are Israel or the others supposed to do with intelligence of a "ticking bomb"? Appeal to their better nature? The same Hamas that rejects peace and kills harmless Israelis in cold blood? Where were all these breast beaters after the Passover massacre? The Buenos Aires massacre? When The Pals killed the Israeli minister of tourism? As usual evidence for Israeli guilt is not necessary.

Tourism minister Zeevi?Blowing up a room full of Passover celebrants? How did that help the cause of peace, the incentive to employ Arabs? Or the Jewish center in Argentina or mass murder of Israeli Olympic athletes or missiles on IsraelI civillians , all have to be fought. The Arab murder squads that succeded outside Israel showed Israel cannot sit back and depend on foreigners,the interests do not always co incide.

And assuming Israel is guilty no matter what the available evidence may show Where did you find the job description for Mossad or many other intelligence agencies for that matter?

Nicely said,Jane..I agree!

Gideons writing is so deeply human in the most beautiful way. Always a heartfelt pleasure to read.

instead they should have asked Gideon to write an article in Haaretz...

THIS IS A GREAT AND HONEST ARTICLE,I SALLUT THE AUTHER FOR HIS LOVE TO THE THE TRUTH ,HIS LOVE TO HIS COUNTRY.I FEEL HIS PAIN AND REGRET AS A JEW BELIEVE IN THE IDEALS OF JUDAISM.I HAVE READ THE BOOK KILL KHALID ,I FELT THAT I WAS WATCHING A HORRER MOVE , KING HUSSEIN WAS ALIVE,THE KILLING HAPPENEED IN JORDAN,BIBI AND HUSSEIN WERE FREINDS,AND THE KING WAS SO SCARED FOR HIS KINGDOM IF THINGS WERE KNOWN,TRAGEDY;;;;

Who knows what's going on with Mossad. As Levy said, when Abu Jihad was killed, the Mossad killed a moderate, someone who was willing to talk about peace. And who killed Issam Sartawi who was talking to many Jews and trying to make peace? He was a socialist type Palestinians. Officially, it was Abu Nidal. However, Abu Nidal was later executed in Iraq for being a spy for Israel according to Saddam Hussein. The European governments have no motive for killing a Hamas operative nor does the US. You have to look at motive. You could say the PLO does, but they are not going to be able to recruit European like people to do such work and risk the wrath of the Gulf states and also they want a unity government with Hamas. So, the motive is with Israel. It did this. It's obvious.

Mr. Levy, It is troubling to see that people, our own Israeli journalists, begin to buy into the Arab propaganda machine of "occupied lands" being the motive for terrorism, etc. This is the most dangerous of all beliefs in regards to the Arab conflict against Israel and all Jews.If this was the case, they would have accepted the many offers that Israel has made in the past..we all are well aware. The truth is that they want to wipe Israel off the map, and that Israel MUST act in such a way as to defend itself and its citizens, even if it involves killing known Hamas terrorists, especially those that were on a trip to negotiate for more arms to kill Jews. In a perfect world we could negotiate and find an agreement as Israel has tried in the past but these people are born and raised to hate and kill Jews. 99% of Jews don't preach hatred and a desire to KILL Muslims; not the case the other way around.

Gideon Levy is supposed to be a journalist, yet ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the articles he writes are just anti-Israel hate articles where he bashes Israel and never utters a negative word toward Hamas or any Palestinians.

Even neo-nazi blogs make an attempt however skewed to back up their claims. Where is your proof that the Mossad did it? Get help.

To all the Natallie Durson imposters, when one of her true, insightful posts appears, it shows.

Gideon's predetermined analysisis always the same:Israel is always wrong,can do no good & that it is the "occupation" which is the cause of terrorism & the problems between Israel & the Arab world.(In his words: "We can also continue ignoring,as is our wont,the motive for terrorism:the Israeli occupation.")I guess he forgot about that little war in 1948-49,the terrorist raids from Egypt before & after Suez,the endless barrage of threats from the Arab world to drive the Jews into the sea,the economic boycotts & attempts to strangle Israel's economy,the rejection of the UN partition etc all pre-occupation.The reality is the total rejection of Israel's right to exist by the entire Muslim world,a world that also seeks a worldwide caliphate under sharia law.In your twisted sense of right & wrong,you are all too happy to buy into the anti-Israel barrage that Mossad was behind the Dubai assassination, without a shred of evidence & based on conjecture eminating from hostile sources.

.. LEVY never watched a 007 James Bond movie--the BRITS make no pretense -even relsh the publicity--that sometimes its agents can have a license to kill on HER MAJESTY's SECRET SERVICE....or that LEVY never read a Daniel Silva novel featuring Gideon Allon showing what Israeli covert agents "MUST" do in this survial game ...LEVY must be a closet Christian of the turn the other cheek variety--trouble is that naivete lets the baddies go off scot-free to kill YOU and YOUR PEOPLE... Eliminating SCUM from future killing by killing them is the only SENSIBLE policy a SANE government should pursue...Whether that comes from NATO going after terrorist al-Qaeda or Taliban hives in Afghanistan or Waziristan or whether it involves secret agent assassin "work" -if it gets the result (ELIMINATION OF THE PERPS AND FUTURE PERPS) -you simpoly GOTTA DO IT! LEVY would have us let the police track down the baddies--but does Levy believe Dubai would turn over this vacationing Jew-killer?

It is yes a shame that war is... It is yes a shame that terror is shipped back and forth from enemy to enemy. The goal however for both is victory and safty and a normal life in the dreams of our lands. To the Arab people I would suggest that you have your Islamic army lay down your arms and extend the branch of peace. You will see and feel the gladness of the world. King David

In a Guardian article dated January 9, 2009 Israeli/British historian Avi Shlaim wrote: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders". I used to think that this judgment was too harsh but Israel's vicious assault on the people of Gaza, and the Bush administration's complicity in this assault, have reopened the question. ---------------------------- The assassination in Dubai is merely another of many confirmations that Israel is a Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde state/society.

If there would be no police in Israel, no military, no justice, no courts, no Constitution, no Civil code of rights, no elected civil government, no international treaties, no rules, no israelian signature underlining Geneva Convention and other rules effective between nations and peoples and human beings, if there would be no value of the interests of others, if there would reign plain anarchy in your own state ? then the assassination of other people MIGHT might be explained: Selfjustice or selfdefense. Otherwise it s just plain murder.

Please,Let me know if you think that we are at war with Hamas,or not.

the KHOST operation wasted 14 top CIA officials in one single tough blow . the mossad will face same destiny soon . mossad will be infilitrated and pay heavy and costly price ...no doubt about that .

Speaking of Israeli intelligence... The Israeli police knew they didn't have a shred of evidence against me other than some hateful letter filled with false accusations that misled them. http://tinyurl.com/yegk27t

If I would set up a plot where Israel should destroy itself, I would find myself plotting the same as what has happened the latest two years. The Cast lead and one blow was Libermans directives to diplomats and the rest he has done. Now it is the trigger happy Mossad senior officer. We from the outside have to update our view of Israel as a competent and smart state, Jewish people as generally intelligent and clever. If I was Bibi, I would suspect that evil foreign elements has infiltrated the government, masterminding the breaking of the state.

I agree. But the real problem is that Israel (the leaders of Israel and those who support them)is it's own enemy.

Mordechai you posted: "6- How many people have been killed due to the arms smugling activities?." The answer is a lot less than the number of people the IDF, the Mossad and the state of Israel have killed or were responsible in some way in the deaths of people, including Israelis.

just curious

In a perfect world, this would be murder. But then, in a perfect world, al-Mabhouh would not exist and Hamas would be lying down with the sheep. The reality is .... reality and this surgical strike, while not perfect, was very encouraging. Whether it was Mossad or somebody else, we will know for sure in 40-50 years time.

just curious

"We have long forgotten that the Mossad is supposed to be an intelligence-gathering organization, not one that sows death, and that a lawful state does not operate hit squads." Really! Just because you say so doesn't make it so. Each situation needs to be individually evaluated and in a democratic country like Israel, the people elect a government they trust to make such evaluations. I no more trust people like you, than I do those who claim that all Palestians are evil and should be killed.

Any intelligence officer from any country will tell you that their business is not pretty but it does work. Until it is clear who killed the terrorist we should all shut up about what the Mossad did or did not do or should or shouldn't do to protect Israel. Who died and left you Mr. Levy in charge of such matters? As one who consistently supports Israel's attackers I'd say you are talking about things well above your pay grade, not to mention knowledge.

....Is that Israel is creating enemies faster then it can shoot them.

Just put aside your preconceptions and picture this for a moment: let's say one of this man's many enemies (from within Hamas, from a rival group, from Syria, from Iran, from the Russian mafia re a screwed-up arms deal - the possibilities are almost limitless) decides to take him out. Could you possible imagine a better way than to assassinate him like this, in a country where almost everything is caught on camera, whilst at the same time implicating the Mossad? This was no botched job. This was a meticulously planned and perfectly executed assassination, which fulfilled a number of purposes simultaneously. T

How can the Mossad gather intelligence, when it is made up of killers and assasines. The Mossad is no more than a terrorist group woking officially for the government of Israel under direct orders from the government of Israel, which is also made up of killers and assasins.

Dear Gedeon Yes I'm proud to be part of a Country that eliminate arms smuglers that endanger our Stateand that have full copperation from many Countries. Who cares who elimentae who??? only our left wind and our enemies. Countries are asking to Israel to explain the passaport forging and Dubai feel his Country desrespected by Israel. I would make other questions: 1- which quantity and types opf weapons the dead terrorist have delivred? 2- Which gropups and countries received the weapons? 3- Where the weapons where comming from? 4- Who financed the operations? 5- Which Countries where involved on the logistic os arms smugling and finally.. 6- How many people have been killed due to the arms smugling activities?. Gedeon, You are missing the target!!!The terrorist went to late!!

...that Mr. Levy consistantly and clearly sees all sides of the issues, and the ramifications of the actions and reactions that he writes of. I believe that it is people like him who are the future of Israel. Thank you, Mr.Levy for your wonderful pieces!

Much like the CIA....responsible for many amany more assassinationa. So would you consider them terrorists? Well, if so....you have a lot to learn about the definition of terrorism

Thank you.

Thanks to Mr.Michael of UK. "Israel and its worldwide fans will probably only listen to you when its too late Gideon." These were your comments which are very correct . The palestinian victims were not killers of jews but they were and still being a resistance fighters .

When Jesus came, he was helding the whipcord of the reprimand for all the corruptions the Jewish People was walking into. He was demanding the conversion from corruption to incorruptibility. His teaching intended to change iron into gold. But the Jews were and are still waiting some kind of Super James Bond, a golem, a brutal being without intelligence who wouldn't talk or not much and above all, wouldn't oppose to their own plans. Jesus showed there is a big difference between men's will and God's will. And to reach peace, only God's will is good. Men's will only leads to desasters. Men's will not only kills people, but destroy the whole world.

there can be any number of reasons this guy was hunted down. Where were you guys for the past 50 years, while Mengele sipped soda? Anyone gave a rat's ass about justice for the past 50 years? What happened? Killing a few hundred Jewish people by sadist on operating table is an OK for your sense of justice, morons? Go back to your sleeping corners, zombies.

Dino, Certainly a most contentious screw up. No doubt, the fingers were supposed to point in the general direction of Israel. After all, passports are easily obtained. Venezuela supplies them to Iran. All for a few thousand dollars. So, why would Israel not use other sources.? Obviously, the fingerprint was left behind the crime scene on purpose. What a change in the weather. Its actually getting warmer. Have a nice day, from snowy Valais.

What if now the holders of Gilad decide that "enough is enough, these Israelis are monsters and nothing is sacred for them; let's get revenge and show them that this game can be played by both sides" and send Gilad's severed head in a jar of honey to the offices of Mossad? I bet this will change the "positive and heroic opinion" of a lot of Israelis on Mossad suddenly and they would start seeing it for what it really is:a terrorist organisation a par with ETA, IRA, Al Kaidah, ASALA, PKK, and the sort! Or do most Israelis see HAMAS a more moral organisation and that they think HAMAS wil never do something as abhorrant as their MOSSAD routinely do?

....that there is still a little moral difference between a security service spying on lefties in its own country (some of it there was so incredibly incompetent, that it was rather something to chuckle about...:), and a security service (ab)using the identity of its own citizens, in order to assassinate foreigners abroad.... Don't you think so...??? But you are correct, incredibly incompetent they were in both cases (if this was Mossad indeed)....

Even with all the conflicting innuendo, I still believe this was a Mossad operation. And I will admit that secretly, in a small and evil corner of my mind... I felt no remorse. Maybe it was the surveillance videos and the tennis outfits. Or the fact that this intelligence operation resembles a real life spy movie. But the way Gideon portrays this... it's as if this event, is the coming of the Ides of March. Where Brutus stabbed Caesar on the Senate floor. Sure, excusing brutality is not natural or moral. But it certainly, doesn't merit the Praetorian scrutiny and the torment... Gideon Levy takes us through.

Dear Mr. Levy, With all due respect , the motive of terrorism is not the occupation, is the existence of the state of Israel. The war on us , and the terror activities started well before 1967. ( or is the occupation 1948, or even the first aliyah, in your eyes, as it is in 99% of Palestinian eyes)

Raising any question about killing lots of Arabs shows you are a trator to the Israeli cause. And suggesting for a moment that the same rules be applied to Israel which are applied to every other country shows you are an antisemite. Didn't you know? I'm afraid the talkbackers are proving that Israel is not ready for a rational discussion about whether assassination is a good policy - let alone whether it is morally acceptable. The rest of the world will just have to judge Israel accordingly.

Today we read, Haaretz has learned the name of two Palestinians arrested in connection with the Dubai assassinations. One of the arrested is employed by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Another is in custody undergoing interrogation in Damascus. Are they defectors working with Mossad? Has Abbas had anything to say about the alleged activities, of the Palestinian Authority employee, in Dubai? Did the Palestinian Authority act alone or was it a team effort with Mossad? The fact that innocent civilians have been framed and had their identity stolen, and other nations have been embroiled in the Dubai fiasco, and suspicion has fallen on Israel, Israel is going to have to put extra effort into its hasbara project... British soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the Iraq war, 'the war Israel had to have.' And now UK citizens have had their security compromised by Dubai assassins. No wonder Mr Brown is demanding answers from Israel. He will get the anti-Semitic card, for sure!

My God. Is it possible to have a debate on ANY SUBJECT WHATSOEVER without it descending into a flurry of pathetic accusations of anti-semitism. On the Dubai thread its the British being accused, now here its the Irish. The only thing that defines the modern Israeli population seems to be a completely uniformed and uneducated hatred of every other race under the sun. Read some world news you imbeciles

there is no proof that israel stole anything from its citizens. you are assuming that which is to be proven. p.s. as charity, i shall make no reference to the occasions where large numbers of data were under their care stolen by swiss citizens.

"....of course we do have our own intelligence service, but unlike the Mossad (??), it is not stealing the identity of some of its own citizens, in order to engage into unlawful activities abroad." Dino, my boy, what about your SIS unlawfully stealing identities of 700,000 Swiss citizens (fichenaffaere) ? And their "nice" dealings with P-26? Not to forget what you lovely Swiss did during and right after WWII. The pot calling the kettle black???

If Israel is responsible for this SNAFU then refusing to assist with the investigation is reasonable, I suppose. If on the other hand Israel is not responsible it should be right in there helping to find the culprits - who have put Israeli lives at risk by stealing their identities.

No matter how much you try. The partition borders are non existent anymore. If Hammas keeps firing against Sderot because it thinks that is their land, they will justly get back a barrage on their heads. Aren't they relatively quiet now?????? Then what? The Goldstone report.? It wontn pass through the S. Council. That means that it will not be law and it will not be binding. Er..they RAZED Arabs villages..now walk over where they were. They razed arab villages because otherwise they would have been exterminated. That was a war between a tiny jewish community( plan Dalet was a defensive plan) and the local arabs who were joined by the armies of part of the Arab world. CJ is the most likely Chamberlain type of jew. The enemy is pointing their guns against me, but they did not fire yet. They did not attack my sovereignty....so keep cool. I have never imagined such reasoning mind. Thanks God that Jews learned to behave differently.

....of course we do have our own intelligence service, but unlike the Mossad (??), it is not stealing the identity of some of its own citizens, in order to engage into unlawful activities abroad. That is the little difference between our 2 countries, dear Cipora....

israel makes more enemies every time it deletes one

I am a little confused as to why everyone seems to believe that this was done by the Mossad, as there are apparently four Palestinians under arrest in Syria and Jordan in connection with this killing. Does Mossad do joint operations with Fatah in third countries? I agree that carrying out a revenge killing in a third country, and stealing the identities of innocent civilians for this purpose, is more than a little disgraceful, but shouldn't be be sure of who did it before we start hurling stones?

"We should be glad that we have an intelligence service whose duties are assassinations of enemies of the state because it keeps Israelis safe." this statement made me laugh! truly.

Thank you for speaking truth to power. I wish we had a brave journalist like you in America. Israel's press is the state's last beacon of hope.

if the swiss do not have an intelligence agency, it is difficult to imagine that any swiss, including (swiss) dino could pronounce on the competence of the great mossad.

"Cassandra was a daughter of Priam, the King of Troy. Struck by her beauty, Apollo provided her with the gift of prophecy, but when Cassandra refused Apollo's romantic advances, he placed a curse ensuring that none would believe her warnings. Cassandra was left with the knowledge of future events, but could neither alter these events nor convince others of the validity of her predictions." Israel and its worldwide fans will probably only listen to you when its too late Gideon.

Intelligence gathering Sabotage operations Kidnapping of enemies like Vanunu & Eichman Assassinate enemies of the state, in the 70s they had agents traveling around Europe killing the terrorists responsible for the Munich olympics attacks Mossad has a reputation of being one of the most ruthless of the worlds intelligence services but they all do it other countries are just a little more discrete than Mossad, CIA, MI6 they all carry out assassinations now and again if the government wants them to. It suits Mossad to let people think they have carried out hits even if they didn't do it because if your enemies think that you can reach them anywhere anytime it makes them fear you and fear can be a powerful weapon We should be glad that we have an intelligence service whose duties are assassinations of enemies of the state because it keeps Israelis safe. The intelligence don't have codes of morral conduct and the laws that apply to society in general don't apply to them thats reality

its was like in movies but after quick thought then i saw terror.but what you think the world think about Israel:that's very good of you.my grandfather once told me he who has no public image fear never will he survive a century.that's why USA is powerful and respected,always thinking like the the world president for second term not like the national president like Israel PM make only Israelis happy.And in the end Israel is creating more enemies than friends.see the cause,justify the means,weigh the public judgment and what heart lies you to do.next middle east conflict will be in afica soon by not china.

so does the Palestinians, and Mabhouh was one of them.

....of Israels security service simply matches the incompetence of the current Israeli governement. Sorry guys, but that is what happens, if you vote (not very smart) right-wingers into office.... Try to do better next time.

in response to the questions: "dc said "Please help me understand why Jews cannot set foot in Arab villages without endangering their lives but Arabs can walk freely anywhere in Israel? Is there something I am missing in this picture?" you wrote it was because of all the terrible things Israel has done in its defense. You seem to have forgotten that the Arabs have been dedicated to the destruction of Israel from the moment of its birth, and have acted on that dedication. Who is Levy to decide "Mossad is supposed to gather intelligence, not sow death" - does that apply to the Central Intelligence Agency? At least in the US no one is so naive as to believe that. Mossad, CIA, MI5, etc exist to defend their respective countries, and that goes well beyond intelligence gathering.

We didn't get "stronger" Hamas. YOU DID. You and your leftie cronies did everything you could to raise a stink about Cast Lead and assassination of Hamas leaders. You didn't let IDF to finish them off. So don't you try to pin the blame for something you did on the policy.

Mr. Levy, You have the freedom of speech. You have this because men an woman died to make Israel a state. After the massare of the Jews during the holocaust Israel became a state. A beautiful democracy in the middle east. You have enemys who would like to destroy your nation and drive every Jew into the sea.Yes you write what ever you choose to. The victim in this case is a murderer of jews. He is a smuggler of weapons who Threatens the saftey of all citizens of Israel. SO yes tonight all the citizens of Israel and other nations that Hamas would like to destroy sleep a little safer tonight.

"You live by the sword, you die by the sword." indeed.

the name dagan, the mossad head, reminds me of the cars full of explosives that were spread all over beirut in the eighties, killing hundreds and thousands of innocent people. israel has no right to complain about blowing up buses when it conducts similar, even much worse actions. people like those, should be charged for crimes against humanity.

"..We threw Jews out of Gaza and got rockets in return" They should not have been there in the first place and Gaza is STILL Occupied, so EXPECT rockets, it the occupied's right to attack the occupier. "Your skewed reasoning is so far to the left you can`t discern the fact that there is no chance of peace with someone committed to your demise" Of course they want rid of a neighbour who has for 62 years illegally acquired more and more of their territory. Wouldn't you? "If there were such a thing as a moderate (which certainly the Holocaust denier who heads Fatah is not)" Pity he only wrote ABOUT holocaust deniers... " Please help me understand why Jews cannot set foot in Arab villages .." Er..they RAZED Arabs villages..now walk over where they were "...Arabs can walk freely anywhere in Israel?" Oh yeh...in settlements? "Is there something I am missing in this picture?" Yes. Everything.

I enjoyed your article, deep and meaningful.

This hit was not botched. It was perfect. They still don't know the true identities of the hit men/woman. They got in and out of Dubai before the hit was discovered and they got the man they were after. The only mistake in my opinion was in using names of real people in Israel, which could put their lives in danger. I have no crocodile tears for terrorists. I don't believe in Jesus, but he did say one thing that I agree with, "You live by the sword, you die by the sword."

the victim here is Mabhouh, the jews were the assassins!

dc said "Please help me understand why Jews cannot set foot in Arab villages without endangering their lives but Arabs can walk freely anywhere in Israel? Is there something I am missing in this picture?" Yes dc when you demolish someones home,take away their basic rights ,surround him so he can never leave, humiliate him , remove the luxuries of life and even have family members killed & houses demolished , they sometimes call this "occupation". That may have something to do with it. Naaaa! the Palestinians should role out the red carpet. Welcome Welcome,thank you for the misery. Grow Up!!!DC

The real culprit is Dubai and every other state that lets the terrorists operate freely. All this publicity about passports is just to make people forget that UAE, etc, welcome people who murder Jews with a smile.

As a non-Jew and, hence, an objective observer of Middle East issues, I feel that Mossad is engaging in activities that is vital to the safety of Israeli citizens, with better results than the alternatives. Their methods are much better than conventional military means, where there are a lot more collateral damage and civilian deaths. Sure, there are cases of the mistaken identity where a Moroccan waiter was killed, but overall, termination with extreme prejudice works quite well. It's too bad that the US has outlawed assassinations.

This is a very interesting article. It shows that there's good people everywhere even in Israel.

Not very intellegent to elemiate him With all those cameras rolling and doing it in the middle of the day and in a country that is friendly to Israel if this is an Israeli work.

not anti Israel and anti Jewish rhetoric prelevant on this site.... I expect to get attacked by the same old anti Israel bashers who for some unknown reason read an Israeli Paper... funny, eh?

I simply wanted to commend your reporting. I wish there were US media outlets with the courage to carry your work. We are desperate for legitimate news from the region. I currently read the major middle east news network from Qatar who uses many of your reports. Please keep up the good work, we are reading in the US (a few of us).

Maybe Gideon would prefer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh had successfully smuggled in long-range Iranian rockets into Hamas' hands, seen them fired into Ashkelon or Tel Aviv, killed a few hundred or thousand people? Then what? Put out a warrant for Mabhouh's arrest with Interpol?

"We can also continue ignoring, as is our wont, the motive for terrorism: the Israeli occupation." The quote above from Levy speaks volumes....but who is listening?

There are no runner ups in war.You kill or get killed.And if Israel and its people won't fight for themselves,don expect anybody else to help them.

what answer the assassins will give to god on the judgment day that they killed the man in a cold blood. i dont think that natinyahu will be in a position to defend them.. you people should fear god and be smart enough not to get involved in such a thing that on that day no one to blame but yourselves and one one will be able to defend you guys. think again

According to reports, Mabhouh oversaw the smuggling of Iranian long-range rockets into Gaza, enabling Hamas to threaten the densely populated Gush Dan region, home to more than three million Israelis and the scene of the country?s financial hub.

As Ronald Reagan once said "There he goes again"

If you get caught the Government will deny that your work for them, if you get caught on CCTV perhaps yes your career is over. What is the difference in that picture, the objective. He could have been killed anywhere but the most important thing was for a buffer period of 2/12 hrs to flee the country. Dubai long though to be safe, is not safe and that is one of the messages to come out of that, for Dubai is a junction which money from the Somali pirates is laundered, hostage payments are made and monies are sent to the global Jihad from Chechnya to Afghanistan. If Dubai show the diligence on this investigation on all those other criminal and terror related matters, no one who go there to dispatch their own form of justice.

Haaretz is to be encouraged to employ the likes of Gideon Levy, who is more moral, more intelligent and more sensitive to Palestinian suffering except for Amira Hass perhaps.However, Levy should be watched carefully as his writings reveal a very unhappy and bitter man, whi hasn't found a good thing to say about anybody or anything.

the leaders,the organizers,the suppliers ofdedly weapons for the use against the israeli civilian population or the chldren strapped up wth suicide bomb belts. all the time that this terrorism is against israel the only catalyst that stops ths moslem extremistsfrom killing each other- no one in the world including gladstone & obama nobody turns a hair israel the only democretic state in the area, the thorn in the backside of the the moslem world & the oil magnates.the system of assanation of the terrorist leaders wherever they be or are, chamas,hizbolla & the rest of these sub human organizations can only strengthen all society whoever the perpatrators of the action

Israels prime focus is to paint themselves as victims as cover for their dirty work. Whether that dirty work is land theft or hotel murders, it all needs cover. The problem is when the dirty work comes to light, the mask of victimhood comes ajar. Israelis seem to think that nobody notices these little glitches which happen with some regularity. In fact, it is hard to miss.

Most of the comedy details of the Khalid case were lost until Paul McGeough's brilliant book last year exposed it. Seems Bibi really doesn't learn a thing. Perhaps McGeough's book should be required reading.

...in this piece and my how you've grown. Over the years I have read you I recognize a man with a thirst to understand, to find the key, the reason why so many Israelis are more convinced than any Arab that the entire world is against them. I believe it's part of a nationalism that always claimed for itself an impossible and forever unattainable goal, a "Greater Israel" that gets all the land sans Arabs. Much like the Other Side has. Except the other side would really like to just get on with life and would accept the 22%. But Israel will not. It's the state of Israel, not "the Jews" in the diaspora, most especially not American Jews, who condone either outwardly or inwardly any further ethnic cleansing ala Lieberman... There's a serious disconnect within the Israeli media bubble. The supposedly inward looks are superficial and meaningless because very few seem to grow and learn as you have. Bravo.

I'm not too sure about all of this - to me at first glance the hit looks to be too unsophisticated to be the work of Mossad, but then with second thoughts, perhaps that was the illusion designed to exonerate Israel from any blame. Either way Israel will take the blame, and if the Israeli government are proven to have sanctioned the hit, then the allegations of Israeli war crimes in the Goldstone Report are sure to be flagged up to the ICC, with all its repercussions.

gideon says the 'occupation' is the motive for terrorism. ok...2 questions then gideon: 1)PLO founded in 1964 as a terrorist 'LIBERATION' group. Liberate what exactly in 1964? Gaza was egyptian and WB was jordanian. so again, liberate what? 2)what do YOU, Gideon Levy, designate as being occupied? isn't that the crux of everything? it's NOT 1967..that much I think most enlightened people can grasp... and so therefore, if we agree on that, then you HAVE to ask, can the arabs truly ever really accept israel in any borders? sorry gideon, once again, your article is severely lacking and offers not a single solution. You can apologize to hamas and the PA all you want, but it wont stop them from coming after all of israel you dummy...in your world, you would lie down like in 1939..but these days it's a different story gideon..no more bullshit and hypocracy. When you have a real solution gideon, I suggest you come back and write something more honest.

Wouldn't it be so nice to live in a world where everyone followed the rules and the Ten Commandments? Of course Gideon....But we don't.................

This notion that Hamas needs an excuse or some sort of motivation to kill Israelis or Jews is really quite laughable and ridiculous. The only reason there are fewer attacks is because Israel plays offense as well as defense. This is the same excuse that the Security Fence/Wall is a cause of terror attacks when in fact they have prevented many. Go Mossad, IDF, and everyone who rightfully supports Israel - and the rest of the sane World's War on Terrorists.

Mr Levy- In a few or many years, this will be looked upon as a great triumph as it should be considered now. I cant wait for the movie comes out.

I am seriously trying to coming up with legitimate moral differences, and I am having a hard time.

When you said "Although assassinations are neither effective nor legal and sometimes not moral - when the target is a political leader or someone who could have been detained", i disagree, so what are you implying that we should have arrested him instead and then more soldiers would be kidnapped demanding his release after serving only 2 yrs or a couple of months in an israeli. The reason israel is carrying out these assasinations is because its being pushed against the corner, ESPECIALLY with whats going on right now with the issue of Shalit that Hamas is going to receive 1000 murderers in exchange for our soldier. And every terror group knows that no matter how heinous the crimes their operatives commit (blowing up buses, restaurants, bar mitzvahs, etc...),in the event they get captured alive and sentenced to a prison term, they will get released as soon as their sentenced. So what other options does Israel have with someone like Mabouh? Sending the mossad out to arrest him???

They are too busy admiring themselves.

Without hesitation, these terrorists would kill you, your family, your friends and all that is precious to you. Each one them must be stopped. Get off your so called intellectual high-horse. The motive is not the occupation. It?s the excuse! The motive is that Israel exists, that the Jews have a homeland and thrive in it. The surrounding Arab countries could care less about the plight of the ?Palestinians.? For if they truly did, money flowing from the Mullahs would be for medicine, food, housing, business infrastructure, social services and education, not for stock piles of rockets and launchers both in the North and the South aimed at our brothers and sisters.

One of the passport holders was supposed to be a german/israel national but he turned out to not be a germman national. Two of the passport holders live in ireland. Why would israel use olim when they could have used people from other countries like they did with the ones who live in ireland. This shows someone is out to frame israel.

A person can't seem to open a can of Coke these days without you spring up from there, too. A "progressive" opinion on everything. The Institute is supposed to potect the Jewish Nation, through gathering intelligence, yes, but also by eliminating hostile threats. What was supposed to happen: Inelligence is gathered, and then our airforce takes out the hotel? Yeah, I bet you'd approved of THAT! Or were we supposed to ask the Emiratis if they would be so kind as to arrest and extradite a "person" who had murdered Israelis (and is hence a hero to many of them) and who was involved in acts designed to murder even more Israelis? Don't be absurd. And, by the way, canceling one arch-terrorist hardly constitutes "sow[ing] death." You really can't even make a pretence of trying to be objective, can you...

As a Jew, I have always instinctively supported Israel in past conflicts, but I feel ashamed to see this country that I love, enter into mafia style "eliminations". I am not naive. This is not what Israel should be all about. We are better than this. We are not supposed to be acting like a rogue state.

I think this really says it all. Israelis do "love being the Israeli Rambo, all blue and white..." It has to do with constructing a national identity to counter the historical identity of the weak Jew. The fact is that many countries can and do regularly pull off these kinds of operations, but they do it quietly and rarely get caught. I have often thought that we were meant to know about the many Mossad operations that we do- so we could all wonder in awe at the blue and white Rambo. If not, then the fact that so many have been exposed means that Rambo is not nearly as good as he'd like people to think.

Dear Mr. Levy: Your piece on Mossad was well reflected. All free, thinking people can and will agree with you, whether they are Israelis, Americans, Thais, Swedes, or Yanomamis. Ironically, likely only Mossad and its rightful opponents, who also engaging in death sowing activities, would readily disagree with you. As a minority, in my birth country and in America, my adopted country of 32 years, I have always keenly felt my status. I, therefore, honor the many brilliant LIBERAL American Jews who have fought for and have died, sometimes, to gain the rights I have come to enjoy when I first set foot on its soil in the late 1970s. It's only truly free countries that nurture very vocal critics, such as yourself, in Israel. Here in America, we have Noam Chomsky, one of the truly great thinkers of the 20th-21st centuries. Keep fighting for everyone's right, there, in the Middle East! Be the voice of reason, even when or where it is not popular! Her Lao

Between you and me, Gideon,How can it be that everything that Israel does, is in your opinion wrong and bad. ?How came then,that we are such a great country,as everybody agrees. Maybe not you ,but the rest of the world. Anyway,by enervating,you get a lot of talk backs, that keeps your "parnasa"in good shape .Try some empathy with your country,it can cure that deep hate in you .

The definition of terrorism, in part, includes assassination. Someone needs to convincingly tell me why Mossad should not be considered a terrorist organization.

Everything sounds right, but when you are saying that "the motive for terrorism" is "occupation", what kind of occupation do you mean? Has not Israel left Gaza? Well, if you agree with the idea that Israel's existance is occupation per ce, then this makes sense. But do you?

he would advocate a new non-violent nation building of the Palestinian people......leaders who guard internal justice,,,,,,,,and create a rehabilitated peace ready nation..... nothing short of this will ever lead to peace....

How about, We threw Jews out of Gaza and got rockets in return. Your skewed reasoning is so far to the left you can't discern the fact that there is no chance of peace with someone committed to your demise. If there were such a thing as a moderate (which certainly the Holocaust denier who heads Fatah is not) then don't you think they would be willing to extend a hand to confirm their intentions. Please help me understand why Jews cannot set foot in Arab villages without endangering their lives but Arabs can walk freely anywhere in Israel? Is there something I am missing in this picture?