Will the Dubai hit increase Israel's global isolation?

The Dubai hit, if it were Mossad, was not an act of self defense. it was done to perpetuate, and eliminate opposition to, the Israeli 42-year illegal occupation of another peoples territory. That occupation is in violation of international law. Israelis kill resistors to oppress those who rebel against that violation of international law. International law works just fine to take down international terrorists. In a recent 4-day period, Saudi Arabia killed 15 Al Qaeda members. They have over 200 in prison. Of the 28, or so top Al Qaeda members on 9/11, only 3 remain alive or not incarcerated. The US and the Pakistanis just captured 12 top members of the Taliban. Hamas is not an international terrorist organization. Israel is not in the fight against international terrorism, and has not faced mass terror. Re EU, all countries hand-wring when their sovereignty has been violated. And there will be consequences for the violator. Nothing you note was lost on anybody serious.

Firstly there was no BOO HOOING in his post. But you being WHO you are:I suggest you BOW DOWN,"BOTTOMS UP" AND SHOUT "ALLAHU AKBAR".More appropriate for YOUR LOT. That is what I think of your bungled response. Pathetic

But his was a premature praise.Once again you have reverted to your OLD SELF.Assuming without any proof as yet that Mossad carried out this ODD phenomena with passports. It is better to wait and see if the Israeli Govt,will say? I hope like Mossad they'll keep MOUTH TIGHT SHUT.There is no evidence and one is INNOCENT until proven guilty. Hey,passports are not only stollen by jihadists but printed FAKE ones to carry their multifarious deeds. Do you know how the UK's secret services/police catching would be terrorists on a daily basis.This you should give you thought of concern.I mean born/bred as British citizens and yet trying to produce bombs in their homes.Remember 7/7 In London carried out by so-called citizens. Think before accusing people who may have dual nationalities. Not all are SPIES (I am of course referring to Israelis). Better try to accept Israelis as they are.Not as you wish them to be.Because you disapprove of have done so over the years. PATHETIC

at every opportunity. Asking that Israel abide by it's VOLUNTARY obligations to adhere to International Law is not 'jew hate'.

Statistics thx.... and ...how do these minorities effect the UNGA voting of the UK, Ireland, and France, and abstinence of Germany and Australia? Is it mandatory to say something that has no foundation in fact?

"You have no imagination JB. " Unlike someone I know.... "Spend a couple of hours on Facebook and you`ll find hundreds of them." Go ahead...Show us a couple.... " Cross check the Facebook info with Passport info obtained from a corrupt immigration official at a central hub airport... lets say at Heathrow or Frankfurt for example." OK show us...an example for example... I'm fascinated...

In New Zealand the reaction to the Dubai passport affair was: "What's new?" To briefly summarise: in March 2004, Police arrested two Israelis, Eli Cara and Uriel Kelman, in the act of them collecting a fraudulently obtained New Zealand passport (it was in the name of an NZ cerebral palsy sufferer who had certainly not applied for a passport and was no position to ever travel). The passport was sought, not for either of them, but for their ringleader, Zev Barkan, who had been an Israeli diplomat in Europe for a number of years. Barkan fled the country and has not been brought to justice. There was a fourth man also involved whom media inquiries identified as New Zealand citizen, Tony Reznik. He is a New Zealand citizen who had lived for many years in Israel and who is believed to have been the one responsible for selecting the disabled man for the identity theft (Reznik worked as a St Johns Ambulance paramedic and would have come into contact with the unknowing victim).

The perception of many of us outside Israel is that every action that it takes is kind of sleazy. Appalling leaders, supposedly on behalf of the people of Israel, taking underhanded and generally unacceptable actions. Its all out of kilter with acceptable and decent human behaviour. Israel should start to try and demonstrate some honorable behaviour.

"Israel will be increasingly subject to court proceedings like we saw yesterday where it was declared that the West Bank was not part of Israel and goods produced there were subject to tariffs." So, is that punishing Israel or palestine? Who suffers more from this result?

"I think that the UN should impose restrictions on Israel in the same way that it did on Iraq and does on Iran and North Korea." That can never happen as long as the USA is ready to veto it. And if the USA falters it will only take one other permanent SC member to do the veto. China would gladly do it in exchange for US military secrets. But what would happen when the US secrets were used up? Better to stay with the USA and not shop around for another protector.

To which nation is the recipient, of duel citizenship, most loyal? In the case of Australian-Israeli duel citizenship holders, why whinge about what the Australian government is or is not doing to help in the deplorable situation of ID theft? What is the other half of their duality (Israel) doing to help? If the decision has been made to live in Israel, surely responsibility sits with the Israeli government... oh, wait! The Israeli government appear to have authorized their own citizen's ID theft!

"The diaspora Jews should remain nuetral we do not need them." You are right. You do not need diaspora jews and diaspora jews do not need you. Israel needs no friends at all, but should stand completely alone. The diplomacy is easier that way. You do not need to defer to anybody.

What the Moroccan waiter in Norway guilty of?

The highjacking of flight 847.And many more atrocities committed over the years. Example the killings in Argentina of innocent JEWS. Must dash hope you receive this.Your points were correct and much appreciated. Truth will out no matter how.

S: "Yeah Johnboy #74 - The UK & France are chock full o`Arabs, and ... Germany & Australia, not." S, face facts: they all changed their vote from last time, and in every case they changed their vote to the DETRIMENT of Israel. Q: Did those countries change their vote because they suddently become MORE chock-a-block fulla Arabs? A: Noooooooooooooooooo. Q: So what has happened between then and now? A: Israel pissed them off. It's that simple i.e. Israel treated them with arrogant contempt, and those countries have just doled out some well-deserved payback.

Hey ted chase...Mossad has said nothing,they did not even opened their mouths. S,by your logic yo are assuming they did. When,where,how,why. In conclusion a lot of indulging in innuendoes and fabricating by falseties. We can wait till doomsday.It being a secret services it must and will remain a MYSTERY whether we like it or NOT. If you take into account the British Secret Servises when many of their agents collaborated with Russia.i.e Philby,Burges,Maclean. They fled sooner to Russia. With the exception of Blunt decades later although he never apologized. However,this has no bearing on the present incident. I was only referring to it because all secret services keep very quiet.It is their modus operandi.Otherwise they'd put their life in jeopardy. It is also their only means to keep it all very CONFIDENTIAL.

To be able to speculate about facts not at your disposal, you need to understand how things work in this world of the children of the Most High God. The deaf should only preach to the Amen Gallery. And here is a most beautiful example of what the outcome might be: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlfxe8ujn7M

We as you pointed it out Daniel is what Mark forgot. To differentiate Ancient Greece with modern ISRAEL is too absurd for words. Conversely,as I said above showing how well his all knowing knowledge of the period is. I call this arrogance in thinking we are remise in history.

Imad Mughniyah was not only head of the military wing and founder of the Hezbollah, he was also responsible for several terror bombings and rockets attacks against Israelis and Jews in Israel and abroad. The latter applies also to the Hamas senior operative specialized in weapon&missiles contraband sent to the morgue in Dubai. Both have repeatedly attacked and murdered. Hamas and Hezbollah aren't according to their own words and actions interested in peaceful solutions, they are war-mongering organisations based on an ideology of hatred. Israel has the right to defend herself against these dangerous entities and their operatives, even if nothing is proved in connection with the Dubai plot. The costs you are talking about belong more to your disingenuous wishful thinking than to reality.

Whether Mugniyeh was the TOP DOG of Hizballah or not(that we,same as the doofus,logios)Were quite aware and need not confirmation from he/she. He thinks he knows better than us Jews Isralies. Bull! I say to Logios..Go suck a lemon. Now,the fact we,or someone else DISPATCHED him is the crux of the matter whether them are pissed off who the hell cares. It shows by ridding him from his BOSS Hassan the Hizb'pig is more to the point. He,Logios,must surely feel grateful HE IS OUT OF THE PICTURE. Now,we,them,got rid of number two of Hamas Mabhout too.He is now with his 72 old HAGS IN PARADIZE.

you have obviously no clue what the importance of this terrorist was. you make the outlandish claim that mossad killed an insignificant man. such would never happen.

Innocents falsely accused scream their indignant outrage. Israels refusal to even deny this crime is enough to convict it in the court of world opinion. "There's no proof" is not a terribly convincing defense.

"Imad Mughniyah, the Hezbollah senior member and operative in Syria, was also "only" a middle-man between his organisation and Iran." - Daniel No, Mugnieh was a founder of Hizballah and head of its military "wing". He was a master in his craft, and Israel suffered a great deal in the recent Lebanon war from his way of deploying his rockets. Better not to underestimate your adversary. In any case, you are paying attention to what I wrote. I am talking about gain to cost ratio. If you want only to look at the gain and not the cost (even in Lebanon, knowing about the Winograd Commission but ignoring its existence), you really deserve a good place in the Amen Gallery. Let me suggest that you discuss things with the Whiskey/Bravo guy who seems too drunk to understand what he reads. Perhaps you will enjoy it, and the rest of us might enjoy a good Purim Spiel.

of all the posts here, right or left, this person, poster # 60 has it perfectly understood. You can have all the linwaithes and dursons and licolns of the world to try to justify their jew hate, but the bottom line is just as #60 says it. well done sir. I agree..its too bad these stupid christians keep at it with their jews killed jesus crap, or their lapping up a known false document like the protocols..it's all about jew hate and this goes back forever...the arabs, their oil and terror blackmail have got all the anti semites just where they want them...they even have the fence sitters..america is losing her way and fast...rolling over for these idiots will only further deminish they society and what its founders stood for. Obama is a disgrace.

Dear Israeli, I do not have a problem with the liquidation of a terrorist who killed Israelis in the past, and is presently helping in killing more by arranging weapons supply to Hamas. But what I am against is the manner and cost of the operation by which this was done. Involving 26 agents? Risking so many lives and even the future functionality of so many agents? This was not a question of killing somebody uniquely qualified for the job he was doing. He was probably replaced already by a no lesser man. So it was possible to wait for another opportunity. Now that Haaretz is beginning to talk about it, I hope you can realize that this is a serious issue. If you don't examine critically the operation of the institution you have, they will get worse and worse. If you want to criticize the nations of the world, that's fine with me. Perhaps they deserve it and perhaps not, but this you should raise on your own; I haven't touched on that issue and don't deserve criticism for it.

In 1920 Charles Stienmetz said "There will come about an age of small independent Nations whose first line of defence will be knowledge". This statement sums up well the role of the Israeli intelligence services. Organised espionage and deception has long been an honoured and recognised profession among the Israelites with only the Chinese having an older history of espionage. This long history coupled with an almost fanatical will to see the state of Israel survive has led to the formation of one of the most successful intelligence services of any country in the world. Modern Israel has been under constant threat from hostile neighbours on its boarders and hostile minorities within leading to a state of siege atmosphere which has encourage their security service to indulge in regular and at times bloody covert actions. The Israeli security services are made up of three main organisations, Aman, which is military intelligence, Shin Beth, which deals with internal security and counterintelligence and Mossad. Ha Mossad le Modiin ule Tafkidim Meyuhadum translates as the Institute for Intelligence and Special Task is the Israeli equivalent of the British SIS and deals with most of the covert operations. Although almost consistently threatened by its neighbours either directly by war or indirectly by terrorism, Israel remained somewhat aloof from the Cold War which has given its covert operations a distinctive flavour and made them a world leader in the post Cold War World of espionage and holds many lessons for the intelligence services of the West who are slowly adapting to this very different political environment. Dividing the Israeli Covert Operations into three main areas, Counterterrorism, anti Nuclear Proliferation/ technology acquisition and Humanitarian Relief.

Not deterrent - just worldwide revulsion and disgust.

Remember that Mossad did neither of the things you are accusing. To the contrary they have kept MOUTH TIGHT SHUT. You? acting like a comedian in your posts noticing your caption shows who in fact is the real sociopath. And in this instance me thinks you fit the BILL perfectly.

Israel's Right To Self-Defense The Dubai hit exposes the failure of international law to fight jihadi terror, forcing the Jewish state to act independently. The headlines and video images allegedly showing Israeli spies in Dubai are titillating, but they mask the serious issues involved in the death of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Along with predictable European hand-wringing over forged passports, this case is the latest example of the failure of the international legal system and the United Nations to provide a remedy to mass terror. Al-Mabhouh was a cold-blooded murderer-in an interview just last year on Al Jazeera he boasted about kidnapping and then killing two Israeli soldiers. He was also a major figure in arranging arms shipments from Iran to Gaza. Al-Mabhouh shared responsibility for the thousands of rocket attacks fired at civilians in Sderot and other Israeli towns, which resulted in last year's war in Gaza. In his travels, the Hamas terrorist was probably making arrangements for the next round of attacks. Unlike those Predator strikes, though, which hardly raise an eyebrow in the West these days, there was no "collateral damage" in the mysterious Dubai hit. No innocent civilians were hurt, no buildings were damaged. Justice was done, and al-Mabhouh's preparations for the next war ended quietly. All this is lost on those diplomats, "legal experts," and pundits who blame Israel for Dubai, and angrily denounce the passport infractions. In the absence of viable alternatives, and a refusal to share any of the risks, they are in no position to condemn actions aimed at preventing more terror.

Mossad and Israel needs not to provide any proof they did it.Nor are we the Israeli public concerened at all. And if per chance they carried it out...secrecy is THE NAME OF THE GAME,which permits them to keep MUM. There is no outcry or discussions within the normal Israeli population. Take my word for it..because they are far too busy leading their normal life and never visit talkbacks. The exception to the rule are the ones who have nothing better to do who take part at talkbacks. Like you,me,and the rest of the bofoons. That is the answe for you Mark Lincoln.

The Hamas leaders couldn't agree among themselves when dividing the dosh. Comrade Mabhouh run to Dubai with the whole lot ! Where the money now ? Ask the chief of police in Dubai ! An good answer as any !

Haaretz is not the only news outlet who published the Dubai affair.Go to Ynet,JPOST and the rest,you will find the same. And NO there is no great cost,unless you already decided it was Mossad carried it out. Think before providing the wrong analysis. Mossad will never be put to pasture.Why even mention it in your posts? Could it be disgruntlement on your part,wantig proof positive it was Mossad? Well,it was not.How is good are you in the mathematics DPT? Do you not find it odd,that the numbers over the week increased from:3,to 6,to 9,to 11,to 16,to 20,to 30?? And then Dubai came up with a gem:i.e they have the DNA...What a load of hog wash. C'mon Logios you seem to have NO LOGIC. Nice moniker-- from ancient GREEK MYTH. The diaspora Jews should remain nuetral we do not need them.

Imad Mughniyah, the Hezbollah senior member and operative in Syria, was also "only" a middle-man between his organisation and Iran. Yet he provided Hezbollah with weapons and sensitive logistic informations. His killing represents till today a serious blow to the military apparatus and the self-confidence of the organization. This is the cost of being an operative in a terror organization hostile to Israel. Since 2006 the borders between Israel and Lebanon are quiet. Didn't you notice?

Imad Mughniyah, the Hezbollah senior member and operative in Syria, was also "only" a middle-man between his organisation and Iran. Yet he provided Hezbollah with weapons and sensitive logistic informations. His killing represents till today a serious blow to the military apparatus and the self-confidence of the organization. This is the cost of being an operative in a terror organization hostile to Israel. Since 2006 the borders between Israel and Lebanon are quiet. Didn't you notice?

Some US companies have had "arrangements" to allow their US employees to travel safely in Central America, South America, and Asia for decades. Even if it were Israel, he may well have been "set up" by another country or group which wanted him out of play as he may have been an embarrassment to everyone. It is probably easier to "set up" this type of individual by his own greed than any other motive.

I think the EU countries have to get practical to prevent further experience like the one in Dubai. We should stop to give our passports to people, who are Israeli citizens. Especially Germany should stop to give passports to people, who come with some kind of dubious documentation of grand parents and grand-grand parents having lived in Germy once. This is not reconcialation, but an open door for all kind of misuse.

I didn?t do it; If you can prove I did it then it was just a little murder; I know some very nasty people that has murdered many more, much worse than this little one; He was not even good looking; actually he was a bad person, so I did the world a favorer; It?s not fair to put a sentence on me because I have had a really bad upbringing. It?s not FAIR!

... Germany & Australia, not. This is the response to your: "We`ve just seen the first effect. At the UNGA; Israel just lost ten votes including - Gosh! - the UK, Ireland, and France, who voted AGAINST the Israeli line, and Germany and Australia, who both abstained."

Modern Middle East is not Ancient Greece. It seems you didn't get the difference yet.

At the UNGA; Israel just lost ten votes including - Gosh! - the UK, Ireland, and France, who voted AGAINST the Israeli line, and Germany and Australia, who both abstained. They are pissed off, and they are making their displeasure known.

Is it acceptable for a Jew to commit murder?

Say the Mossad did it...of course not. how could they?I mean,first it was 3 people, then it became 6 people,then 10 people,then 11,then,15,then 19,then 20,then 30,then??? Lost count.But then the have the DNA woowee. The Dubais are most certainly the cleverest and technologically advanced country in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.. There fore...theif the price is right...they will win the BATTLE OF THE BULGE! Enjoy it as long as it lasts.But it is getting a bit TEDIOUS don't you know.....

Haaretz may be the first Israeli paper beginning to think rationally about the Dubai hit. Every action has some cost attached to it, and one should always weigh the benefit against the cost. The enormity of the cost in this case, in dozens of Mossad agents being put to pasture for the killing of an insignificant Hamas operative (a buyer from a seller - Iran - who would give the weapon goods for free) seems not to justify the fictive gain. Unfortunately, this is the typical Israeli public's reaction to any war or operation, such as in Lebanon or Gaza - for a while everybody is screamingly supportive and wouldn't apply any reason. After a few days, when the cost is beginning to show, reality begins to descend. Of course the Jewish Amen Gallery in the Diaspora is the last to wake up. You have a few more days fellows to dream of glories before your rude awakening.

And all this time I thought Epaminondas was a guy able to think outside the box and turn the opponent's conventional strength into a liability. Over half of all Jews don't live in Israel. Why? It is not hard to portray Israel as a bit of a self-made Ghetto as it is to portray it as a natural homeland. One of the more curious developments of the last three decades is the belief in Israel that it must treat the world with contempt instead of seeking acceptance as one of the world's great nations. Your 'chip on the shoulder' attitude is not necessarily healthy. Had the real Epaminondas been so determined to ignore reality he never would have prevailed over the Spartans and freed the helots.

Israel disregards the rule of law and is friendless around the world as a direct result. This killing will hopefully add Netenyahu to the list of unwelcome criminals not able to enter the UK as Livni discovered recently. Israeli war criminals are not welcome in Britain. And no amount of lobbying will change than.

When white minority South Africa was in the cross hairs of the world at large, the black majority were peaceful subservients. The white ruling party had nothing really to offer to the world except for diamonds and some other commodities that at that time were not in demand as they are today. On the other hand the Palestinians and several other Arab/moslem countries have been accosting Israel since day 1. Israel has so much to offer to the world as we have seen since day 1. To kill israel off is to kill the golden goose. There is no isolation of Israel because it is not necessary and there will be none in the future.

I don't know about that Michael. Sources in Israel indicate that most Israelis assume is was Mossad. What is curious is the ideologues on both sides of these forum who have defined a debate based upon two concepts. Denial and, outrage. The deniers have lots of cute postulation as to how it couldn't be a Mossad hit and the 'outragers' have nothing but grasping at anything to bludgeon Israel with. There ARE real problems here for Israel. There seems to have been not been any thought given to cost vs benefit in this operation. There seems to have been a bit of arrogance, a belief that a bunch of camel drivers would never have the snap to use modern forensic capabilities. There also seems a belief that denial of the consequences will make everything right. This reminds me of the reckless arrogance that plunged America into two losing wars for ideological reasons in the last decade. Whack terrorists? Ok by me. But at what cost?

JB:"Your hypothetical "Criminal Mastermind" had to steal the identity of British, Irish, French, German and Australian Jews who had made aliyah to Israel. How did your hypothetical "Evil Genius" obtain that information?" You have no imagination JB. Spend a couple of hours on Facebook and you'll find hundreds of them. Cross check the Facebook info with Passport info obtained from a corrupt immigration official at a central hub airport... lets say at Heathrow or Frankfurt for example. It's done. And you could do it all from Pitcairn Island if you wanted to.

How in the world can Dubai be accused of aiding and abetting a known terrorist, when al Mabhouh entered the country with a false passport? If that is the criterion, Dubai aided and abetted the assassination, because the hit team entered Dubai with false passports. FYI, Carlos the Jackal traveled often to Europe with false passports when he was an international fugitive. Did every country he enter aid and abet his activities?

Get over it, Chris, European newspapers have had little or no mention of the affair for over a week, and your squawking on Haaretz won't bring the story back. Everyone knows converts are obsessive, but don't you think the occasional ten minutes off your 'mission' would be healthy? (you know, eat a sandwich, take a leak...)

It's the brutal occupation of another people, the blockade of Gaza, the inability to see any victims other than yourselves, the contempt for international law. For a neutral observer it's nothing to do with anti-Semitism. It's a pity you can't see that.

Mossad .if YOU have done it ,what a waste of menpower and money , next time send a DRONE ,its clean and only would cost a fraction of this operation, and leave much less traces !!!

Why would Mossad use Israeli passports to kill an known enemy? There are places in South America and Asia where it is relatively easy to "acquire" the necessary documentation for a covert operation. It is, probably, relatively easy to "create" a new person. As to the method of the killing, there has not yet been a documented description of the death. It is, also, ludicrous to believe that more than just a few people were involved. Logistics and communication are, probably, more important in this type of operation than force or numbers.

There is absolutely no need for Israel to go to these extremes.This wasnt Adolph Eichmann.Israel are still involved in a mentality of survival.Now they are running up the score.Whats the point,really? The fight is over. The Mossad has nothing better to do.They should go and find a daytime job.

Given the holiday this weekend and the 2600 years of anti semitism which follow it, I would think that the reason Israel is, and feels itself to be isolated is quite obvious. It is the reason Mahathir received a standing ovation It is the reason Arabs can maintain both that the Holocaust never occurred, and it's too bad Hitler didn't finish the job It is the reason Jews were expelled 3 times from England and 4 from France It is the reason they were accused of poisoning wells That is the UGLY truth. It is because Israel is filled with jews. Dubai's events are merely slightly visible frosting. 2600 years and counting NO SIGN of diminishing ignorance and bigotry.

Mr Martyr Mabhouh had a lot of fake passports for his uncovered missions and no one talks about them. There's much more than an Israeli plot to kill this "missionary". He deserved his destiny.

Why would Mossad use Israeli passports to kill an known enemy? There are places in South America and Asia where it is relatively easy to "acquire" the necessary documentation for a covert operation. It is, probably, relatively easy to "create" a new person. As to the method of the killing, there has not yet been a documented description of the death. It is, also, ludicrous to believe that more than just a few people were involved. Logistics and communication are, probably, more important in this type of operation than force or numbers.

al-Mabhouh put out the bait (Ajazeera interview two weeks before his assassination) and Mossad bit. Israel has been the target of suspicion and distrust because of such gullibility. al-Mabhouh would have known Mossad was crawling around Dubai looking for him - the false passports were allegedly used more than once to gain entry into Dubai. BTW, what would Palestinians launch nukes with? Slingshots?

they went the way of the dinosaurs. Nice junkets though.

what a ludicrous line of crap! the west bank is NOT israel, the settlements DON'T belong there, and NEITHER does israeli industry; unless its in partnership with a palestinian industry. considering that the eu, and the rest of the world for that matter, doesn't recognize the legitimacy of israel's presence in the west bank, it should consider itself lucky that those products aren't banned from import altogether!

evidence suitable for a court of law before taking action. Like we did when we declared Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and promptly invaded. Not so. Reasonable suspicion would be enough for governments to punish Israel. Israelis and Israel firsters will scream blue murder at that suggestion, but we didn't call the representative of Burkino Faso to the Foreign and commonwealth offiice when this affair came to light did we? Mr Prosor was invited for a cup of tea and a request for an explaination. And a suggestion that Israel should fully co-operate with SOCA. This isn't over just because Avigdor (the nightclub bouncer) Lieberman says there is no proof.

if it is mossad, it deserves copious praize. if it is not mossad, it still deserves copious praize.

Australia, France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom didn't call the envoy to Burkino Faso to their respective foreign ministries for depending on which country, a dressing down or request for further information, or request for co-operation in police investigations. Israel needs to do some serious grovelling because if one of the countries I have mentions decides to punish Israel for these transgressions, then the others will have to follow suite as they will be seen to be happy with Israel using their passports in this manner. More likely though that Israel will be increasingly subject to court proceedings like we saw yesterday where it was declared that the West Bank was not part of Israel and goods produced there were subject to tariffs. It may also be that dual Israeli nationals will be given a seperate sort of passport which is not as easily forged and is identifiable to immigration authorities so as to maintain confidence in the passport system.

All of them are gonna be scrutinized in case they're one of the agents. The real agents are likely to be stuck in Israel for years to come.

If it transpires that all 26 murderers are Israeli Mossad agents, I hope they enjoyed their trip to Dubai. Because they will not be able to visit Europe or Australia, (or anywhere else covered by Interpol/Europol), anytime soon unless Mossad can give them all new faces. The one's travelling on Irish passports are of course welcome to come "home" for a long holiday and we will accomodate them free of charge for about 10 ten years or so in one of our best jails.

....which usually is a super-super-super "pro- Israel" newspaper. And it was absolutely devastating. Last line was something like: "Never, never do that to us again...."

The world is 99 percent sure it`s the CIA. Plus, from what I heard on Public Radio Americans think the CIA is the best ever for pulling off this assassination. Apparently, many American citizens don`t think the rule of law applies to their country, but this is hardly surprising given that the UN and the world basically look the other way when U.S steps crosses the line. _________ Here Nina I fixed it for you! If the US kills whoever it is ...it is okay right??? Well here we have the same situation....what is your moral background to criticize Israel??? http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/12/us_strike_kills_four.php

The rest of the world has logged it as yet another example of Israel thinking it can solve all its problems by violence alone. "former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz said that such actions attributed to Israel "deter terror organizations." Classic denial. Israel has regularly assassinated members of Hamas, Fatah etc. ALL their operatives already know there's the possibility of being killed by Israel. This makes very little difference, but coming on top of Cast Lead, it has done a lot of damage to Israel's reputation. Israel's western friends now get the impression Israel is happy to screw them over all for the chance to carry out a pointless assassination that achieved nothing long term.

At least 50 Muslim Countries not to mention the allies. I don't care if this guy was a ticking bomb. If you were going to finish him, it should have been done somewhere else. Especially not in Dubai. I don't know. Maybe he's not even dead. I'm thinking about all those Asian Muslim countries like Malaysia and Singapore and Brunei. This is such a crappy week. Listen. Don't do this again even if the CIA gives you the wink. The guys that make the rules are the FBI. That's the truth!

you have israel for a friend? Then u dont need an enemy.

JW: "26 hit men to take out 1 terrorist????" Try this instead: Would it take 26 agents to tail one terrorist, when that terrorist is know for his paranoia? Answer: I would not be at all surprised if it takes MORE than 26 agents working in constant rotation to keep a constant eye on such a dude without themselves being detected.

MA: "Use of Israeli citizens identities as aliases? This was a clear set up to blame Israel." Your hypothetical "Criminal Mastermind" had to steal the identity of British, Irish, French, German and Australian Jews who had made aliyah to Israel. How did your hypothetical "Evil Genius" obtain that information? Was this hit arranged as a joint UK / Irish / French / German / Australian secret service operation? One where they all met in a dark alley to plan this "kill", whereupon each nation had to take turns tossing a few names into a hat? How likely is that, Michael? And how likely is the alternative? You know..... that a MOSSAD agent can simply log into the Israeli population registry and select the names of UK, Irish, French, German and Aussie olim with nothing but a few keystrokes and a click of the left mouse button. Which is more credible?

All on interpol watch list Too funny.

Dubai is 99 percent sure it's the Mossad. Plus, from what I heard on Public Radio Israelis think the Mossad is the best ever for pulling off this assassination. Apparently, many Israelis citizens don't think the rule of law applies to their country, but this is hardly surprising given that the UN and the U.S. basically look the other way when Israel steps crosses the line.

South Africa, Serbia, in the end they all gained by isolation.

War is nasty ever considered complaining to the no peace ever elected government of Palestine? Have you called for a boycott of Russia yet? Do you call for boycotts when Jihadists financed by various ME countries carry out transnational killings? When Iran attacks our soldiers in the open sea? So do tell us what is your real problem?

It is regrettable that this act may harm Israel internationally, because it is easy to accuse it about terror act, if Israel really was behind the act. Something went wrong somewhere. This plays in bag of Iran, and make it more difficult to counteract Iran nuke program.

Mabhoubb also entered Dubai under a false identity---How many more terrorists with false IDs are in Dubai????

Regardless of whether Israel was responsible for the hit or not, it won't raise Israel's global popularity from rock bottom. When Livni praises the Dubai hit, and apparently endorses the idea of state sponsored murder of Israel's perceived enemies, then it raises the question of what moral standards were used in determining the IDF rules of engagement for the genocidal war in Gaza, and puts a different perspective on the allegations of Israeli war crimes in the Goldstone Report.

there is no proof that israel is involved with this terrorsit's death. dubai can make all kinds of claims: we have them on video, we have their passport numbers, but truth be told, dubai has no idea who they were or are and never will. what is known for certain is that al-mabhouh was a dangerous terrorist and a killer of jews.

Who said and can prof that it was Israelis that did the killing? This is just speculation and the evidence that are public won't hold in any court. Maybe this is just part of a plan to increase Israel's isolation. // Jan

Now I know there's no such thing as a Jewish "look". We come in all colors and sizes and races. Jews can be white, olive, brown, black etc. Of any hair and eye color. But you can usually tell between different types of Jews. And most of those people in the passport photos look like Ashlenazim, and fewer look like Mizrahim and Sephardim. But most definately look like some type of Jewish person from different Jewish ethnicities of the world. In any case, whether or not they were Mossad agents, to my eyes at least they most likely are Israelis, or at least Jews. And they are not just in the passport photos, they were in the security video of the hotel and airport. So we know that that is actually what the "agents" looked like. It's a matter of time till we find out where they came from, if not who they actually are. And if they turn out to be Israelis or Jews, as my eye suspects, then it will really hit the fan, and we will no longer be able to avoid denying or confirming involvment

Remember the Mossad agents caught in 2004 by the New Zealand authorities for illegally and fraudulently obtaining New Zealand passports? Four people were involved, only two were caught and sentenced to 5 years (released after 6 months and $50,000 donation each to charities in New Zealand). The other two escaped, one of which fled to North Korea. Why is it so impossible that this time some fled to Iran? Australia expelled Israel's consul a couple of years ago too, in an affair that was never clarified as to why by the Australian authories.

besides it was a chance to go to dubai :) and on the company

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was the link in the dealings between Hamas acquaring arsenal from Iran, including potential nuke. This made him the MOST important person to take out for Israel. He was the link between Hamas in Gaza & Iran's Revolutionary Guard & clerical regime. The hit had nothing to do with his previous terrorist activities. It had to do with the current dealings. Israel was seeking to trump those dealings. And they succeeded. At least for now. All dealings done through him with Iran will be lost forever, & they will have to start from scratch. That is a victory for Israel. Even with the cost of the neutralization of 26+ agents with identities blown by passport photos, the risk was taken. Mossad just didn't expect Dubai police would be able to crossreference & link all the people involved in it, although the link of them to Mossad remains broken. It led to the unprecedented exposure of agents. The opperation dissintegrated into a mess, but the mission was accomplished.

Who cares if it is still called the KGB but may i remind Haaretz that Russia murdered a former spy with nuclear material in London and did that cause any permanent damage? No not really everybody fights to be a friend of Russia now and you really think they always use Russian passports? Or the CIA on every mission uses real US passports? And lets say they used passports from their own country it is still forbidden by law to forge them. So Haaretz you forget one thing Israel is singled out due to anti semitism and opportunism.The UNHRC has singled out Israel as the worst perpetrator of human rights abuses while exempting Russia, China and Cuba for instance. Does Israeli isolation mean correct criticism or.... anti semitism? Haaretz clearly thinks the former I beg to differ. So stop the hysteria besides Syria blew up Hariri did it harm them long term? No even Haaretz wants us to be buddies with Assad so why so critical of your own people? If we did it at all?

This editorial smacks of a black and white cowboy movie where the tipsy hanging judge enters the court, his verdict already set. The Hanging Judge is not interested in evidence or proof, the culprit is pronounced guilty before any proof of guilt or innocense. The verdict is in, Israel is guilty. Why? Because the head of police in Dubai, yes Dubai, has stated as such. So what do we have. The Mossad is said to have used up to thirty agents and counting, odd? Of course. The Head of Police in Dubai is blaming Israel. Odd? of course not. Some of the plotters escaped to Iran. Odd? only if they were Israelis. Initially the Dubai Police procalimed that the gentleman had died of natural causes. Odd? yes especially when they now state that he was tortured! Seems we have a mistrial here. The verdict is already in, void of proof, armed only with the same old players playing their bit parts for the camera. I suggest we wait for the facts.

Has anyone considered the concept of proof? So far the only people under arrest in Dubai are Palistinains

Not at all.

The subject is very important to all parties. This and similar articles need to be clear and balanced. I have a few comments: 1 It was an exaggeration to claim that "all Israelis with dual passports will be suspected of being intelligence agents." 2 The article claims that the group that took out Mabhouh was exposed due to one weak point, but that's another incorrect statement. The group made numerous mistakes. They profoundly underestimated the surveillance capabilities of Dubai, in spite of its fame. They also underestimated the professionalism of its police, in spite of their reputation. The group was confident, professional, fast. 3 The answer is 'Yes.' 4 The group reveals itself for showing no serious regard for the local authorities. The group reveals itself for being so expertly trained. The group reveals itself for being well-funded. The group reveals itself by the ethnicity of its participants. The group reveals itself for including a woman. Must we pretend not to know?

Watch for American passports next time. Thousands of us, hundreds of thousands, millions would jump at the chance to kill terrorists with our bare hands, either for our own United States government or for the Jews. Perhaps Dubai should reconsider their policy of entertaining known terrorists in their aircraft, airports, and luxury hotels? For some reason, our US government considers Dubai an ally in the war on the terrorists. So, if you were to weigh allies, which would you favor? Would you favor the ally who kills your enemies (the "loathsome" Hebrews) or would you favor the ally who dances with them and gives them fancy sex parties and wine?

that would increase Iceland's global isolation which is already pretty complete, being out there in the Atlantic. And doing that stuff with the whales, and sitting around in hot springs. And if it was Western Samoa, then ...... I would love to be a reporter and paid for this kind of stuff.

The entire world knows who is responsible for this murder, though they fail to directly accuse - a "policy of ambiguity'?

I think that the UN should impose restrictions on Israel in the same way that it did on Iraq and does on Iran and North Korea. It "thumbs its nose" at the UN recommendations, as did/does the other mentioned nations and it also breaks international law regardless of national boarders, friendly or unfriendly. Whereas Iran and North Korea "huff and puff" but haven't yet actually acted out any provocative behaviour, Israel has invaded countries to kill and kidnap citizens, Israel and other nationals, that it thinks it has a right to eliminate by any means. It would seem to me that Israel considers it is a law unto itself and is, consequently, as great, if not a greater, threat to world peace and security as any other of the world nations.

26 to 30 operatives? A number of which escape to Iran? Use of Israeli citizens identities as aliases? This was a clear set up to blame Israel.

"A week before the hit on Mabhouh, a nuclear scientist was killed in Tehran, and Iranian leaders accused Israel." The poor man was a theoretical researcher with nothing to do with nuclear weapons technology. He was killed as a dissenter against the Junta in Iran. Do some basic research before you pontificate Editor!

This is the first article that suggests that some operatives were in the country for a longish period of time and perhaps were involved in other assisinations, past and-or planned. Many of them fled after the hit, but perhaps planned to return when the dust settled. Now they can't thanks to the Dubai police investigation.

Perhaps if the English editor of this paper gave up her British passport she would be less inclined to talk Israel down. Self-hating liberals will be the death of Israel and Jews everywhere. ...and I am not even Jewish.

Than with all of his smuggeling.

Yes, perhaps he is for being careless enough to discuss his travel/stay plans on the phone. I just can't help but question that if Mabouh's murder is just, as implied by many in the media and ppl, then why was this operation carried out in such a covert manner? If he's a terrorist, capture him, issue a warrant for his arrest or if they had information about him smuggling weapons, catch him red-handed and do things the right way. somethings are just not adding up. And why the need to organize such a large hit squad with forged identities to murder this man?

Douglas, responses like that are unhelpful. The world will be much better if people respected the law and respected the other countries. It seems Israel wants to do it alone and thus, it will feel much more alone in the future.

I don't understand why nobody questions Dubai's integrity for aiding and abetting a known terrorist. Of course, Eurabia is as hypocritical as it ever was and Left wing reporters should not take it too seriously.

"Israelis with dual passports will be suspected of being intelligence agents" Precisely. A kid at school could tell you that. Akin to unwittingly shooting oneself in the mouth. It shows contempt for friendly countries and Israelis with dual citizenship alike. Driving knitting needles up people's noses will have sure consequences and self-righteous arrogance doesn't make one invulnerable.

You all can't put your name on this? Must've been written from under a desk. What a joke that Israel could possibly be more isolated than it already is.

Whodunnit don't matter. Meshal doesn't go too far away from the protection of Syrian territory since he almost bit the bullet. Nasrallah keeps a low profile in Lebanon. He comes up for airing once a month to rant about Israel. As far as I am concerned these assasinations by whomever is a deterrent to more of the same from them.

I'm sure that the censors will not allow my comment to be posted, but I shall try anyway. Israel's isolation is not increased by the Dubai hit, but rather by Israeli thinking. Ha'aretz is symptomatic of this. The editorial is not concerned with an extrajudicial killing in a sovereign country, but only with the impact of its incompetence in making future illegal operations more difficult. Israel appears to have no concept of the rule of law. This is what is isolating it from civilized nations.

you are nuts

Mahmoud al Mabhouh is responsible for his own assassination.