Israel Matzav

Two Fatah operatives arrested in Mabhouh case

Buried in the middle of this Haaretz article are details of the two 'Palestinians' who were extradited from Jordan to Dubai last week in connection with the liquidation of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Haaretz earlier Thursday learned the identities of two Palestinians arrested in Jordan in connection with the January 20 killing at a Dubai hotel.

Ahmad Hasnin, a Palestinian intelligence operative, and Anwar Shekhaiber, an employee of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, were arrested in the Jordanian capital Amman.

Jordan on Tuesday confirmed it had extradited the two to Dubai.

The two were residents of the Gaza Strip until Hamas seized control there in 2007, a Hamas source told Haaretz.

Both moved to Dubai, where they were employed by a real estate company belonging to a senior official of Fatah, the political faction headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

So let's recap. The three suspects who have been arrested are a 'Palestinian intelligence operative' and a 'Palestinian Authority employee in Ramallah,' both of whom were apparently living in Dubai for some time, and a Hamas collaborator in Damascus, who apparently spent some time with Mr. Mabhouh in Dubai on the day he was liquidated.

So why does everyone seemingly assume that the Mossad is responsible for this? Because no one believes the 'Palestinians' are sophisticated enough to pull off the rest of it.

Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:53 AM