Israel Matzav

Hamas collaborator played key role in Mabhouh liquidation?

Authorities in Dubai say as many as six more people may have been involved in the liquidation of Hamas terrorist and arms dealer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. And that's just among the people who were in Dubai. In Damascus, a Hamas security official is being questioned regarding involvement in Mabhouh's liquidation, while details have started to emerge regarding two 'Palestinians' who were arrested and extradited from Jordan to Dubai in the days after Mabhouh's death - they may be connected to the 'Palestinian Authority.' This is from London's Guardian.

Massoud's name first surfaced in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Siyasah which quoted "a well-informed source" in Dubai as saying he had been with Mabhouh until he was killed, raising questions about his involvement.

"Hamas suspects that he [Massoud] passed on the information that led to ­Mabhouh's killing," a senior ­Palestinian source told Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper. Massoud, a commander of Hamas's armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam brigades, fled from Gaza to Egypt where he was detained but released in late 2007, to the fury of the western-backed Palestinian Authority, run by Hamas's rival, Fatah.

JPost adds:

The PA in past years accused Massoud of being behind the assassination of Col. Muhammad al-Musat, commander of the PA's Military Intelligence Force in the northern Gaza Strip.

Massoud was also wanted by Israel for his role in a series of terror attacks. Two of his brothers, Khaled and Tito, who were also members of Hamas, were killed by the IDF.

The Times of London has managed to put together the most detailed chronology of the liquidation that I have seen yet (is there no other news to report in England?).

Security footage of the killers’ movements during the afternoon, released by police in Dubai yesterday, underlines the professionalism of the operation. The group switched hotels several times and wore disguises including false beards and wigs, while surveillance teams rotated in pairs through the hotel lobby, never hanging around for too long and paying for everything in cash.

Folliard and another member of the party carrying an Irish passport in the name of Kevin Daveron were operating as spotters on the second floor of the hotel when the murder was committed. Both switched hotels that afternoon and dressed smartly to pose as hotel staff. The bald Daveron donned a dark wig and glasses, while Folliard appears to have removed a blonde wig to reveal dark hair.

Throughout the operation, none of the suspects made a direct call to any another. However, Dubai police traced a high volume of calls and text messages between three phones carried by the assassins and four numbers in Austria where a command centre had apparently been established.

To co-ordinate their movements on the ground, the team used discreet, sophisticated short-range communication devices as they tracked their victim.

Al-Mabhouh touched down in Dubai at around 3pm from Damascus to arrange a shipment of weapons to Gaza. Hamas has not explained why one of its senior commanders, a marked man with several assassination attempts against him already, should have arrived alone without any security.

Clearly, though, his mission was compromised long before his arrival in Dubai. The assassination team were waiting for him at the terminal. CCTV footage shows al-Mabhouh passing within metres of one of his killers. As the Hamas commander approaches the taxi rank outside the terminal, a spotter from the team can be seen sidling into shot behind him, speaking on a mobile phone to confirm the Palestinian’s arrival.

Read the whole thing. James Bond could not have done it better.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:01 AM