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Sunday, February 21, 2010
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DUBAI (Reuters) - New evidence incriminating Israel's spy agency in the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai includes credit card payments and phone calls made by suspects, an Arabic-language daily reported on Saturday.
World
Police have already said the 11 suspects used forged passports in the names of innocent individuals of several European nationalities.
"Dubai police have information confirming that the suspects purchased travel tickets from companies in other countries with credit cards carrying the same names we have publicized (in the passports)," Al Bayan daily on Saturday quoted Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim as saying.
It did not give further details.
Palestinian Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead in his room in a luxury Dubai hotel on January 20, a day after arriving in the emirate.
Dubai police have released photographs of the 11 suspects. The international criminal police organization Interpol said on Thursday it had issued "red notices" for their arrest in any of its 188 member countries.
Dubai's police chief said on Thursday he believed Israeli agents were responsible for killing al-Mabhouh, a senior member of the Islamist group which rules Gaza, and called for the Mossad spy agency's chief to be arrested if its responsibility was proved.
Britain offered on Friday new passports to six British citizens whose identities were used by the suspects and all of whom live in Israel, to protect them from inadvertent arrest through Interpol.
Other suspects identified by Dubai used cloned passports from Ireland, France and Germany.
(Reporting by Tamara Walid; editing by Andrew Roche)
World
Police have already said the 11 suspects used forged passports in the names of innocent individuals of several European nationalities.
"Dubai police have information confirming that the suspects purchased travel tickets from companies in other countries with credit cards carrying the same names we have publicized (in the passports)," Al Bayan daily on Saturday quoted Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim as saying.
It did not give further details.
Palestinian Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead in his room in a luxury Dubai hotel on January 20, a day after arriving in the emirate.
Dubai police have released photographs of the 11 suspects. The international criminal police organization Interpol said on Thursday it had issued "red notices" for their arrest in any of its 188 member countries.
Dubai's police chief said on Thursday he believed Israeli agents were responsible for killing al-Mabhouh, a senior member of the Islamist group which rules Gaza, and called for the Mossad spy agency's chief to be arrested if its responsibility was proved.
Britain offered on Friday new passports to six British citizens whose identities were used by the suspects and all of whom live in Israel, to protect them from inadvertent arrest through Interpol.
Other suspects identified by Dubai used cloned passports from Ireland, France and Germany.
(Reporting by Tamara Walid; editing by Andrew Roche)
Israel Goes Rogue
From identity theft to war crimes – is there anything the Israelis won't do?
From identity theft to war crimes – is there anything the Israelis won't do?
by Justin Raimondo, February 19, 2010
When is the world going to finally decide Israel has gone too far – and do something about it?
When Israel invaded and retained the occupied territories, imposing a regime that resembles the old South African apartheid system, the world looked the other way – after all, beleaguered Israel was fighting for its survival, and, besides that, peace talks were underway. The daily grinding down of the Palestinians could be accepted as a temporary and even necessary evil as long as there was some sort of vague expiration date attached to the arrangement.
When it began to look like peace might be just a pipedream, and the Israelis continued sponsoring invasive "settlements" to cement their conquest, the world looked the other way. After all, everybody knew Netanyahu had to deal with an increasingly right-wing Israeli electorate, and his government could fall apart at any moment: no one expected President Obama to get tough with Tel Aviv anyway, and so no one was too surprised when the US caved on the settlements issue.
The bombing and continued blockade of Gaza, the barbaric invasions of Lebanon, and the continuing refusal to correct the widespread human rights violations documented in the Goldstone report – all of this has darkened Israel’s image considerably, even among its staunch supporters. On account of this record, Israel is now widely considered a "rogue" nation, at least outside the US. One of the major reasons for this shift in perception has to do with the wide-ranging activities of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service.
With a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness second only to the old KGB, the Israeli intelligence services are known for their boldness and their buccaneering tactics. This was once a public relations advantage: their raid on Entebbe was made into a successful movie for a reason. From rescuing hostages, however, the Mossad has lately gone in for assassinations on foreign soil, most recently in Dubai, where they offed Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
This is nothing new for the Israelis: picking off their enemies on foreign soil is a longtime favorite sport of the Mossad. The innovation that’s got Israel’s allies in an uproar, however, is a relatively new weapon in the Mossad’s arsenal: identity theft. As the Telegraph reports:
"Ministers are understood to be furious that an alleged hit squad which murdered a Hamas leader in Dubai last month cloned the passports of six unsuspecting Britons, who are now living in fear of reprisals.
"Israel, which has not denied involvement in the murder, had previously promised that Mossad, its secret intelligence service, would never use British passports to help its agents carry out covert operations."
The six are all British citizens living in Israel, where the Mossad had full access to their essential documents: they simply cloned the passports and sent their agents into Dubai. There the Israelis reportedly assembled quite a contingent, as many as 18, enough to qualify the effort as a full-scale military operation. In effect, the Israelis carried out a mini-invasion of Dubai, a fact not lost on the Emirate authorities.
Interpol has posted the photos of the eleven (so far) known suspects, and issued a statement, including the following:
"Since INTERPOL has reason to believe that the suspects linked to this murder have stolen the identities of real people, the Red Notices specify that the names used were aliases used to commit murder. INTERPOL has officially made public the photos and the names fraudulently used on the passports in order to limit the ability of accused murderers from traveling freely using the same false passports."
If any institution embodies that vague abstraction known as "the international community," then surely it is Interpol, which coordinates the capture of transnational criminal gangs – sex traffickers, drug lords, and, yes, Mossad assassins. That they see Israel’s intelligence agency as an obstacle in their task of limiting "the ability of accused murderers from traveling freely" speaks volumes about the degree to which Israel has truly crossed the line.
This isn’t exactly an innovation on the part of the Israelis: in New Zealand, you’ll recall, they had a large-scale passport "farm" in operation a few years ago. Their agents would identify someone completely disabled, or otherwise unlikely to travel abroad, and – unbeknownst to the victim — apply for a passport in their name. When discovered, the Israelis denied everything, but the cops had the goods and the trial of the Israeli spies was front page news for weeks. The New Zealanders all but broke off diplomatic relations with Israel over the matter, and the Israelis, while never admitting anything, made apologetic noises while the issue – mostly ignored by the Western media outside New Zealand — faded into obscurity.
Now it has arisen once again, but this time in a far more serious context: this isn’t inconsequential-albeit-lovely New Zealand but Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, and possibly other Western nations who have had their passport systems violated. However, the worst of it is that the Mossad has apparently taken to "farming" the passports of Israelis who hold dual citizenships. According to Ha’aretz: "Five Israelis who hold dual citizenship in Britain and Germany and whose names were on some of the passports denied any connection with the Dubai death."
If Israel’s intelligence services are now "farming" the passports of those numerous Israelis who hold dual citizenship, then the passport system – the key to maintaining security in the age of terrorism – is no longer reliable or even functional. Israel is a multi-national "nation," one created by a state-sponsored effort to get people the world over to move there, and many retain citizenship in their country of origin. The US doesn’t compile statistics on dual citizenship, but the number who hold dual Israeli and US citizenship is substantial: they are now all at risk of having their identities stolen by a covert army of assassins.
There’s just one way to solve this growing problem, and that is to ban all dual citizenship, and ask Americans to choose. Yes, there’s a Supreme Court decision standing in the way, but if it requires a constitutional amendment, then so be it. At a time when maintaining the integrity of our passport system is key to preventing terrorist attacks on our territory and against our citizens abroad, it’s worth taking the trouble to patch up this gaping hole in our national security.
That Israel has gone this far in its international campaign of murder and intimidation ought to motivate the civilized nations of the world to unite in protest. The government of Dubai is petitioning to have the head of the Mossad arrested for murder, and, come to think of it, issuing a warrant might not be such a bad idea. With a foreign minister who is the Israeli equivalent of David Duke, and a foreign policy that owes much to the Klingons, Israel, which is veering off into Asiatic despotism, needs to be pulled back toward the West. The way to do that is not to offer the Jewish state unconditional support, no matter how potty and self-destructive its policies may be, but to offer the kind of "tough love" that can bring it back into the Western orbit.
We can’t afford to look away anymore: Israel has massively compromised the security of international travel, and has brought this on itself. Now is the time for the US and other Western countries to rein in their client state gone rogue – before it’s too late.
When Israel invaded and retained the occupied territories, imposing a regime that resembles the old South African apartheid system, the world looked the other way – after all, beleaguered Israel was fighting for its survival, and, besides that, peace talks were underway. The daily grinding down of the Palestinians could be accepted as a temporary and even necessary evil as long as there was some sort of vague expiration date attached to the arrangement.
When it began to look like peace might be just a pipedream, and the Israelis continued sponsoring invasive "settlements" to cement their conquest, the world looked the other way. After all, everybody knew Netanyahu had to deal with an increasingly right-wing Israeli electorate, and his government could fall apart at any moment: no one expected President Obama to get tough with Tel Aviv anyway, and so no one was too surprised when the US caved on the settlements issue.
The bombing and continued blockade of Gaza, the barbaric invasions of Lebanon, and the continuing refusal to correct the widespread human rights violations documented in the Goldstone report – all of this has darkened Israel’s image considerably, even among its staunch supporters. On account of this record, Israel is now widely considered a "rogue" nation, at least outside the US. One of the major reasons for this shift in perception has to do with the wide-ranging activities of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service.
With a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness second only to the old KGB, the Israeli intelligence services are known for their boldness and their buccaneering tactics. This was once a public relations advantage: their raid on Entebbe was made into a successful movie for a reason. From rescuing hostages, however, the Mossad has lately gone in for assassinations on foreign soil, most recently in Dubai, where they offed Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
This is nothing new for the Israelis: picking off their enemies on foreign soil is a longtime favorite sport of the Mossad. The innovation that’s got Israel’s allies in an uproar, however, is a relatively new weapon in the Mossad’s arsenal: identity theft. As the Telegraph reports:
"Ministers are understood to be furious that an alleged hit squad which murdered a Hamas leader in Dubai last month cloned the passports of six unsuspecting Britons, who are now living in fear of reprisals.
"Israel, which has not denied involvement in the murder, had previously promised that Mossad, its secret intelligence service, would never use British passports to help its agents carry out covert operations."
The six are all British citizens living in Israel, where the Mossad had full access to their essential documents: they simply cloned the passports and sent their agents into Dubai. There the Israelis reportedly assembled quite a contingent, as many as 18, enough to qualify the effort as a full-scale military operation. In effect, the Israelis carried out a mini-invasion of Dubai, a fact not lost on the Emirate authorities.
Interpol has posted the photos of the eleven (so far) known suspects, and issued a statement, including the following:
"Since INTERPOL has reason to believe that the suspects linked to this murder have stolen the identities of real people, the Red Notices specify that the names used were aliases used to commit murder. INTERPOL has officially made public the photos and the names fraudulently used on the passports in order to limit the ability of accused murderers from traveling freely using the same false passports."
If any institution embodies that vague abstraction known as "the international community," then surely it is Interpol, which coordinates the capture of transnational criminal gangs – sex traffickers, drug lords, and, yes, Mossad assassins. That they see Israel’s intelligence agency as an obstacle in their task of limiting "the ability of accused murderers from traveling freely" speaks volumes about the degree to which Israel has truly crossed the line.
This isn’t exactly an innovation on the part of the Israelis: in New Zealand, you’ll recall, they had a large-scale passport "farm" in operation a few years ago. Their agents would identify someone completely disabled, or otherwise unlikely to travel abroad, and – unbeknownst to the victim — apply for a passport in their name. When discovered, the Israelis denied everything, but the cops had the goods and the trial of the Israeli spies was front page news for weeks. The New Zealanders all but broke off diplomatic relations with Israel over the matter, and the Israelis, while never admitting anything, made apologetic noises while the issue – mostly ignored by the Western media outside New Zealand — faded into obscurity.
Now it has arisen once again, but this time in a far more serious context: this isn’t inconsequential-albeit-lovely New Zealand but Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, and possibly other Western nations who have had their passport systems violated. However, the worst of it is that the Mossad has apparently taken to "farming" the passports of Israelis who hold dual citizenships. According to Ha’aretz: "Five Israelis who hold dual citizenship in Britain and Germany and whose names were on some of the passports denied any connection with the Dubai death."
If Israel’s intelligence services are now "farming" the passports of those numerous Israelis who hold dual citizenship, then the passport system – the key to maintaining security in the age of terrorism – is no longer reliable or even functional. Israel is a multi-national "nation," one created by a state-sponsored effort to get people the world over to move there, and many retain citizenship in their country of origin. The US doesn’t compile statistics on dual citizenship, but the number who hold dual Israeli and US citizenship is substantial: they are now all at risk of having their identities stolen by a covert army of assassins.
There’s just one way to solve this growing problem, and that is to ban all dual citizenship, and ask Americans to choose. Yes, there’s a Supreme Court decision standing in the way, but if it requires a constitutional amendment, then so be it. At a time when maintaining the integrity of our passport system is key to preventing terrorist attacks on our territory and against our citizens abroad, it’s worth taking the trouble to patch up this gaping hole in our national security.
That Israel has gone this far in its international campaign of murder and intimidation ought to motivate the civilized nations of the world to unite in protest. The government of Dubai is petitioning to have the head of the Mossad arrested for murder, and, come to think of it, issuing a warrant might not be such a bad idea. With a foreign minister who is the Israeli equivalent of David Duke, and a foreign policy that owes much to the Klingons, Israel, which is veering off into Asiatic despotism, needs to be pulled back toward the West. The way to do that is not to offer the Jewish state unconditional support, no matter how potty and self-destructive its policies may be, but to offer the kind of "tough love" that can bring it back into the Western orbit.
We can’t afford to look away anymore: Israel has massively compromised the security of international travel, and has brought this on itself. Now is the time for the US and other Western countries to rein in their client state gone rogue – before it’s too late.
Report: Israeli warships on way to Persian Gulf
As Israel keeps threatening the regional countries with war, Egyptian maritime sources say the Israeli navy has deployed two missile ships to the Persian Gulf.
Citing the sources, Yediot Ahronot reported Saturday that two Israeli missile ships passed through the Suez Canal en rout to the Red Sea on Thursday morning.
The sources said the ships are expected to reach the Persian Gulf within the next four days.
According to the report, Cairo adopted tight security measures to ensure the safe passage of the Israeli ships through the canal.
The waterway, which had not previously been used by Israeli vessels for intelligence reasons, was traversed for the first time in June 2009 when a Dolphin-class submarine (a nuclear German-made submarine) reportedly sailed from the Mediterranean to reach military exercises in the Red Sea.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118083§ionid=351020205
Citing the sources, Yediot Ahronot reported Saturday that two Israeli missile ships passed through the Suez Canal en rout to the Red Sea on Thursday morning.
The sources said the ships are expected to reach the Persian Gulf within the next four days.
According to the report, Cairo adopted tight security measures to ensure the safe passage of the Israeli ships through the canal.
The waterway, which had not previously been used by Israeli vessels for intelligence reasons, was traversed for the first time in June 2009 when a Dolphin-class submarine (a nuclear German-made submarine) reportedly sailed from the Mediterranean to reach military exercises in the Red Sea.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118083§ionid=351020205
'Dubai hit squad stole my identity': British man's name used by assassins who executed senior Hamas leader
By Nick Mcdermott and Kate Loveys Last updated at 11:33 PM on 16th February 2010
Comments (191)
Videos
A British man in Israel with the same name as an alleged member of a hit squad that assassinated a top Hamas militant in Dubai said his identity had been stolen.
Melvyn Adam Mildiner said he was 'angry, upset and scared' over what he called a misidentification.
He spoke as the Foreign Office confirmed the British passports used in the killing were fraudulent. The FCO has launched an investigation, it said in a statement.
Scroll down for CCTV of the alleged assassins.
By Nick Mcdermott and Kate Loveys Last updated at 11:33 PM on 16th February 2010
Comments (191)
Videos
A British man in Israel with the same name as an alleged member of a hit squad that assassinated a top Hamas militant in Dubai said his identity had been stolen.
Melvyn Adam Mildiner said he was 'angry, upset and scared' over what he called a misidentification.
He spoke as the Foreign Office confirmed the British passports used in the killing were fraudulent. The FCO has launched an investigation, it said in a statement.
Scroll down for CCTV of the alleged assassins.
Last night Dubai police said they were working on the premise that the passports were genuine.
It is not clear if they contacted the Foreign Office to say they believed people carrying British passports were involved in the killing before releasing the information yesterday.
'This is an ongoing Emirati investigation to which we have offered our assistance and support.
We are aware that the holders of six British passports have been named in this case. We believe the passports used were fraudulent and have begun our own investigation.
We have informed the authorities in the UAE that this is the case, and continue to cooperate closely with the Emiratis on this matter.'
- Foreign Office spokesman
'We are not aware of the process they went through in making the decision to release the information,' an FCO spokesman said.
He would not comment when asked if the British Government had been contacted by the Dubai police prior to yesterday's announcement.
Dubai police listed Mr Mildiner as one of six men carrying British passports suspected of being part of an 11-man hit squad that killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a luxury hotel in the Gulf emirate last month.
But the British national, a resident of a town near Jerusalem, today insisted he had nothing to do with the assassination and had never been to Dubai.
'I woke up this morning to a world of fun,' he said, after newspapers around the world splashed names and photos of the suspects distributed by Dubai.
'I am obviously angry, upset and scared - any number of things. And I'm looking into what I can do to try to sort things out and clear my name,' he said in a telephone interview.
'I don't know how this happened or who chose my name or why, but hopefully we'll find out soon.'
'It's not me. Which is one silver lining on this entire story because at least I can point to it and say, 'Look, that's not me. It's not the picture that I have in my passport, and it's not the picture that I have on my face that I walk around with every day',' Mr Mildiner said.
It is not clear if they contacted the Foreign Office to say they believed people carrying British passports were involved in the killing before releasing the information yesterday.
'This is an ongoing Emirati investigation to which we have offered our assistance and support.
We are aware that the holders of six British passports have been named in this case. We believe the passports used were fraudulent and have begun our own investigation.
We have informed the authorities in the UAE that this is the case, and continue to cooperate closely with the Emiratis on this matter.'
- Foreign Office spokesman
'We are not aware of the process they went through in making the decision to release the information,' an FCO spokesman said.
He would not comment when asked if the British Government had been contacted by the Dubai police prior to yesterday's announcement.
Dubai police listed Mr Mildiner as one of six men carrying British passports suspected of being part of an 11-man hit squad that killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a luxury hotel in the Gulf emirate last month.
But the British national, a resident of a town near Jerusalem, today insisted he had nothing to do with the assassination and had never been to Dubai.
'I woke up this morning to a world of fun,' he said, after newspapers around the world splashed names and photos of the suspects distributed by Dubai.
'I am obviously angry, upset and scared - any number of things. And I'm looking into what I can do to try to sort things out and clear my name,' he said in a telephone interview.
'I don't know how this happened or who chose my name or why, but hopefully we'll find out soon.'
'It's not me. Which is one silver lining on this entire story because at least I can point to it and say, 'Look, that's not me. It's not the picture that I have in my passport, and it's not the picture that I have on my face that I walk around with every day',' Mr Mildiner said.
'I have my passport. It is in my house, along with the passports of everybody else in my family, and there's no Dubai stamps in it because I've never been to Dubai,' he said.
Acknowledging that his name was uncommon, Mr Mildiner said: 'There's probably not many of us.'
Mr Mildiner, who made aliya (the emigration of Jews to Israel) from London nine years ago, does appear to have a Twitter account, though his tweets are now being protected.
He was however tweeting on the day of the assassination, seeming about IT-related things. His tweet, sent from a SPB Mobile Shell phone at 2.33 p.m., reads: 'Is it possible to install something like #Swype on an #iPhone and set it as the default input device?'
He spoke out as Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that none of the alleged Irish citizens named as being part of the hit squad exist.
‘We’ve been unable to find any record of Irish passports having been issued with details corresponding to the details published today in a number of UAE newspapers,' the Deparment said today.
'We are in ongoing contact with UAE authorities to try and ascertain the exact facts of the case.
'To date we’ve received no evidence that any Irish people were involved.’
More...
Two Britons arrested in Delhi hotel for 'plane-spotting activities'
Hamas detains British journalist in Gaza Strip over 'security crimes'
The British Home Office declined to comment, saying it was an ongoing investigation.
There was no comment from Dubai-based diplomats from the countries linked to passports.
COUNTDOWN TO AN ASSASSINATION
January 19, 2010: Victim Mahmoud al-Mabhouh arrives in Dubai - mysteriously without his bodyguards. It is still not clear what he was doing in the country.
January 20: Shortly after midnight, the suspects are spotted on airport and hotel CCTV cameras arriving in Dubai.
They split into five teams - four surveillance, and one execution squad.
Acknowledging that his name was uncommon, Mr Mildiner said: 'There's probably not many of us.'
Mr Mildiner, who made aliya (the emigration of Jews to Israel) from London nine years ago, does appear to have a Twitter account, though his tweets are now being protected.
He was however tweeting on the day of the assassination, seeming about IT-related things. His tweet, sent from a SPB Mobile Shell phone at 2.33 p.m., reads: 'Is it possible to install something like #Swype on an #iPhone and set it as the default input device?'
He spoke out as Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that none of the alleged Irish citizens named as being part of the hit squad exist.
‘We’ve been unable to find any record of Irish passports having been issued with details corresponding to the details published today in a number of UAE newspapers,' the Deparment said today.
'We are in ongoing contact with UAE authorities to try and ascertain the exact facts of the case.
'To date we’ve received no evidence that any Irish people were involved.’
More...
Two Britons arrested in Delhi hotel for 'plane-spotting activities'
Hamas detains British journalist in Gaza Strip over 'security crimes'
The British Home Office declined to comment, saying it was an ongoing investigation.
There was no comment from Dubai-based diplomats from the countries linked to passports.
COUNTDOWN TO AN ASSASSINATION
January 19, 2010: Victim Mahmoud al-Mabhouh arrives in Dubai - mysteriously without his bodyguards. It is still not clear what he was doing in the country.
January 20: Shortly after midnight, the suspects are spotted on airport and hotel CCTV cameras arriving in Dubai.
They split into five teams - four surveillance, and one execution squad.
Tennis disguise
During the day several of the suspects are seen in the hotel disguised as tourists.
Like something out of a spy caper novel, they wear false beards and glasses and even dress up in sports gear with tennis racquets to fool any suspicious onlookers.
CCTV shows one entering a bathroom and emerging again in his disguise.
At one point they even get in to the same lift as Mabhouh to confirm the room he is in - room 230.
Peter Elvinger books the room down the hall - room 237. Some of the assassins take up position.
4.25p.m.: One of the suspects arrives at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel, where Mabhouh is staying.
During the day several of the suspects are seen in the hotel disguised as tourists.
Like something out of a spy caper novel, they wear false beards and glasses and even dress up in sports gear with tennis racquets to fool any suspicious onlookers.
CCTV shows one entering a bathroom and emerging again in his disguise.
At one point they even get in to the same lift as Mabhouh to confirm the room he is in - room 230.
Peter Elvinger books the room down the hall - room 237. Some of the assassins take up position.
4.25p.m.: One of the suspects arrives at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel, where Mabhouh is staying.
Mabhouh
8.24p.m. Mabhouh arrives back at the hotel.
8.27 p.m.: Gail and Kevin can be seen monitoring the hallway outside his room.
The killing, believed to have taken only ten minutes, takes place.
8.46p.m.: The alleged execution team are caught on CCTV apparently leaving the victim's room and walking out of the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel after the hit is believed to have taken place.
8.47p.m.: Gail is seen stepping in to the lift and leaving the hotel
Within two hours, the entire team has fled the country to destinations in Europe and Asia.
Dubai police said last night they are working on the premise the passports are genuine - though that premise is false, according to the Foreign Office statement.
Last night the Daily Mail confirmed that people with the same names and birthdates as those on the passports were all born in Britain. Mr Mildiner is the only one to have spoken out so far.
The 11-strong gang - some wearing fake beards and wigs - who disguised themselves as tourists with tennis clothes and rackets in a highly orchestrated murder.
They are believed to have fled the emirate after the killing and are now on the run. Dubai's attorney general, Essam al-Hemaydan, said international arrest warrants have been issued.
They arrived on separate flights and spent less than a day in the emirate, tracking their victim to his five-star residence, the al-Bustan Rotana, near the airport before ambushing and suffocating him.
It was earlier alleged he was electrocuted before being murdered.
Dubai's chief of police, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, last night released the names of six people claiming to be British and three claiming to be Irish among the killers.
'We have no doubts that it was 11 people holding these passports, and we regret that they used the travel documents of friendly countries,' he said.
The other members of the gang were carrying French and German passports.
Within two hours of the attack on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on January 20, the assassins fled Dubai, heading to airports in Europe and Asia.
It is believed that they were in the country for only 19 hours in all.
It is believed a request has been placed with Interpol for arrest warrants for the gang.
Al-Mabhouh was found dead in his hotel room without any injuries to his body, according to initial reports from Palestinian sources.
He had barricaded the door of his room with chairs, a standard precaution by a man who felt that Israeli intelligence had been after his life for 20 years.
But Lt Gen Tamim did not go as far as blaming Israel directly, saying it was possible that 'leaders of certain countries gave orders to their intelligence agents to kill' the Hamas man.
Outlining how he believed the assassination was carried out, he said it was a highly organised operation, carried out with advance knowledge of the victim's movements.
Forensic tests indicated al-Mabhouh died of suffocation, but examinations are continuing to establish other possible factors in his death - including the possibility of electrocution and torture.
Airport surveillance video of the alleged killers arriving on separate flights to Dubai the day before al-Mabhouh was found dead, were shown at a news conference yesterday.
The members of the hit-squad divided into teams - four surveillance teams and the execution squad who would actually carry out the assassination. Three of the execution squad were carrying British passports, one was carrying an Irish passport.
8.24p.m. Mabhouh arrives back at the hotel.
8.27 p.m.: Gail and Kevin can be seen monitoring the hallway outside his room.
The killing, believed to have taken only ten minutes, takes place.
8.46p.m.: The alleged execution team are caught on CCTV apparently leaving the victim's room and walking out of the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel after the hit is believed to have taken place.
8.47p.m.: Gail is seen stepping in to the lift and leaving the hotel
Within two hours, the entire team has fled the country to destinations in Europe and Asia.
Dubai police said last night they are working on the premise the passports are genuine - though that premise is false, according to the Foreign Office statement.
Last night the Daily Mail confirmed that people with the same names and birthdates as those on the passports were all born in Britain. Mr Mildiner is the only one to have spoken out so far.
The 11-strong gang - some wearing fake beards and wigs - who disguised themselves as tourists with tennis clothes and rackets in a highly orchestrated murder.
They are believed to have fled the emirate after the killing and are now on the run. Dubai's attorney general, Essam al-Hemaydan, said international arrest warrants have been issued.
They arrived on separate flights and spent less than a day in the emirate, tracking their victim to his five-star residence, the al-Bustan Rotana, near the airport before ambushing and suffocating him.
It was earlier alleged he was electrocuted before being murdered.
Dubai's chief of police, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, last night released the names of six people claiming to be British and three claiming to be Irish among the killers.
'We have no doubts that it was 11 people holding these passports, and we regret that they used the travel documents of friendly countries,' he said.
The other members of the gang were carrying French and German passports.
Within two hours of the attack on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on January 20, the assassins fled Dubai, heading to airports in Europe and Asia.
It is believed that they were in the country for only 19 hours in all.
It is believed a request has been placed with Interpol for arrest warrants for the gang.
Al-Mabhouh was found dead in his hotel room without any injuries to his body, according to initial reports from Palestinian sources.
He had barricaded the door of his room with chairs, a standard precaution by a man who felt that Israeli intelligence had been after his life for 20 years.
But Lt Gen Tamim did not go as far as blaming Israel directly, saying it was possible that 'leaders of certain countries gave orders to their intelligence agents to kill' the Hamas man.
Outlining how he believed the assassination was carried out, he said it was a highly organised operation, carried out with advance knowledge of the victim's movements.
Forensic tests indicated al-Mabhouh died of suffocation, but examinations are continuing to establish other possible factors in his death - including the possibility of electrocution and torture.
Airport surveillance video of the alleged killers arriving on separate flights to Dubai the day before al-Mabhouh was found dead, were shown at a news conference yesterday.
The members of the hit-squad divided into teams - four surveillance teams and the execution squad who would actually carry out the assassination. Three of the execution squad were carrying British passports, one was carrying an Irish passport.
They used 'coded communication tools' to keep in contact.
CCTV footage shows the female member of the gang apparently wearing a dark wig, big hat and sunglasses to blend in with tourists.
Others in the hit squad were also seen on the film dressed as holidaymakers, wearing tennis clothes and carrying rackets and athletic bags.
The footage also showed the gang gathering in groups at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel.
All of the gang paid for their expenses in cash to avoid being traced.
Investigators saying that several members of the hit squad followed Al-Mabhouh to his room, even riding in the elevator with him to confirm his room number.
Then some of the team checked in to a room across the hall.
Four assassins then entered his room while he was out, using an electronic device to open the door, waiting to pounce when he returned.
The killing took just ten minutes.
The gang were careful not to disturb anything in the room and left the door locked from the inside to try to hide their actions, said Dubai police.
All of the suspects left the country within 19 hours of their arrival. Police said some went to Europe, some to Asia.
But there were clues, police said - the alleged assassins hired cars, and even apparently left fingerprints.
And the CCTV footage used to map the suspects' movements from their arrival in Dubai up until the murder was the most damning of all, police said.
CCTV footage shows the female member of the gang apparently wearing a dark wig, big hat and sunglasses to blend in with tourists.
Others in the hit squad were also seen on the film dressed as holidaymakers, wearing tennis clothes and carrying rackets and athletic bags.
The footage also showed the gang gathering in groups at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel.
All of the gang paid for their expenses in cash to avoid being traced.
Investigators saying that several members of the hit squad followed Al-Mabhouh to his room, even riding in the elevator with him to confirm his room number.
Then some of the team checked in to a room across the hall.
Four assassins then entered his room while he was out, using an electronic device to open the door, waiting to pounce when he returned.
The killing took just ten minutes.
The gang were careful not to disturb anything in the room and left the door locked from the inside to try to hide their actions, said Dubai police.
All of the suspects left the country within 19 hours of their arrival. Police said some went to Europe, some to Asia.
But there were clues, police said - the alleged assassins hired cars, and even apparently left fingerprints.
And the CCTV footage used to map the suspects' movements from their arrival in Dubai up until the murder was the most damning of all, police said.
'DAY OF THE JACKAL'-LIKE ASSASSINATION PLOT
The elaborate plan to kill Mabhouh reads like something out of a Frederick Forsyth-style spy caper - which, in fact, it is.
Forsyth wrote 'The Day of the Jackal', in which an assassin uses false passports in a plot to kill French President Charles de Gaulle, in 1971.
'The Jackal'
It was turned into a film in 1973, with a remake loosely based on the original and starring Bruce Willis made in 1997.
Israeli hit squads have used non-Israeli passports in the past, notably in 1997 when agents who bungled an attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Jordan entered the country on Canadian passports.
One of the agents had a passport bearing the name of a Canadian living in Israel, who later said he was the victim of identity theft.
In 2005, Israel apologised to New Zealand after two suspected Mossad agents were sentenced to six months in jail by a court in Auckland that found they had sought to obtain a New Zealand passport illegally.
'We have identified the suspects and will issue arrest warrants against them and will take legal action against anyone or any party which will prove to stand behind the murder,' Lt Gen Tamim said.
'Currently we do not have clear evidence that a specific apparatus has carried out the act,' he added.
'We are dealing with the passports as original unless it is proven otherwise. We are asking for the co-operation of the respective countries.'
Police said the ringleader is Peter Elvinger, 49, who holds a French passport.
They accused him of being the squad’s logistical coordinator and the one who booked room 237 in Al Bustan Rotana, down the corridor from the victim’s room – 230.
Yesterday police said that there was ‘serious penetration into al-Mabhouh's security prior to his arrival’ in Dubai, but that it appeared al-Mabhouh was travelling alone.
Other reports suggested he was in Dubai to buy weapons for Hamas.
It is understood he entered Dubai on a false passport the day before his murder.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement, denied al-Mabhouh - one of the founders of the group's military wing - was en route to Iran, one of the group's major backers.
Top Hamas figures have accused Israeli agents of killing him.
Lt Gen Tamin said Israeli involvement could not be ruled out.
'We do not rule out Mossad, but when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it,' he said.
'If the law of the jungle is the system for some countries, in the UAE it is rule of law that governs us, and if leaders of some countries give orders to their intelligence services to kill, this practice is rejected and is a crime in our laws, religion and Islamic traditions,' Gen Tamin said.
He added that the UAE would follow the proper legal procedures and work with Interpol to track down the perpetrators – “even if it’s some countries’ leaders'.
n a statement released last month, Hamas acknowledged that al-Mabhouh was involved in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989.
The organisation said that until his death, he had played a 'continuous role in supporting his brothers in the resistance inside the occupied homeland'.
The Al Bustan Rotana in Dubai is a luxury 275 room 5 star hotel, catering for business and leisure travellers. It has seven restaurants and cafes, a health club, two swimming pools, tennis courts and beach access.
It was turned into a film in 1973, with a remake loosely based on the original and starring Bruce Willis made in 1997.
Israeli hit squads have used non-Israeli passports in the past, notably in 1997 when agents who bungled an attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Jordan entered the country on Canadian passports.
One of the agents had a passport bearing the name of a Canadian living in Israel, who later said he was the victim of identity theft.
In 2005, Israel apologised to New Zealand after two suspected Mossad agents were sentenced to six months in jail by a court in Auckland that found they had sought to obtain a New Zealand passport illegally.
'We have identified the suspects and will issue arrest warrants against them and will take legal action against anyone or any party which will prove to stand behind the murder,' Lt Gen Tamim said.
'Currently we do not have clear evidence that a specific apparatus has carried out the act,' he added.
'We are dealing with the passports as original unless it is proven otherwise. We are asking for the co-operation of the respective countries.'
Police said the ringleader is Peter Elvinger, 49, who holds a French passport.
They accused him of being the squad’s logistical coordinator and the one who booked room 237 in Al Bustan Rotana, down the corridor from the victim’s room – 230.
Yesterday police said that there was ‘serious penetration into al-Mabhouh's security prior to his arrival’ in Dubai, but that it appeared al-Mabhouh was travelling alone.
Other reports suggested he was in Dubai to buy weapons for Hamas.
It is understood he entered Dubai on a false passport the day before his murder.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement, denied al-Mabhouh - one of the founders of the group's military wing - was en route to Iran, one of the group's major backers.
Top Hamas figures have accused Israeli agents of killing him.
Lt Gen Tamin said Israeli involvement could not be ruled out.
'We do not rule out Mossad, but when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it,' he said.
'If the law of the jungle is the system for some countries, in the UAE it is rule of law that governs us, and if leaders of some countries give orders to their intelligence services to kill, this practice is rejected and is a crime in our laws, religion and Islamic traditions,' Gen Tamin said.
He added that the UAE would follow the proper legal procedures and work with Interpol to track down the perpetrators – “even if it’s some countries’ leaders'.
n a statement released last month, Hamas acknowledged that al-Mabhouh was involved in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989.
The organisation said that until his death, he had played a 'continuous role in supporting his brothers in the resistance inside the occupied homeland'.
The Al Bustan Rotana in Dubai is a luxury 275 room 5 star hotel, catering for business and leisure travellers. It has seven restaurants and cafes, a health club, two swimming pools, tennis courts and beach access.
It is located just minutes from Dubai International airport and close to the city's main shopping areas.
The British suspects are Melvyn Mildiner, Stephen Hodes, Paul Keeley, Jonathan Graham, James Clarke and Michael Barney.
Folliard, Evan Dennings and Kevin Daveron are the alleged Irish assassins.
Two Palestinian nationals, who are UAE residents, are also currently being detained by Dubai Police in connection to al Mabhouh’s murder. One of them has confessed that he provided logistic help, said Lt Gen Tamin.
He did not say whether any of the suspects have been formally charged by prosecutors in Dubai, one of seven semiautonomous emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
But local charges would be needed before the suspects could be added to the Interpol database or to begin any possible extradition efforts in the future.
Edward, Kent; I deal with forged documents and false passports etc and i would bet my life that this woman Gail is actually a man. Its a bad photo with him clearly exhibiting a adams apple and bad wig.
The British suspects are Melvyn Mildiner, Stephen Hodes, Paul Keeley, Jonathan Graham, James Clarke and Michael Barney.
Folliard, Evan Dennings and Kevin Daveron are the alleged Irish assassins.
Two Palestinian nationals, who are UAE residents, are also currently being detained by Dubai Police in connection to al Mabhouh’s murder. One of them has confessed that he provided logistic help, said Lt Gen Tamin.
He did not say whether any of the suspects have been formally charged by prosecutors in Dubai, one of seven semiautonomous emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
But local charges would be needed before the suspects could be added to the Interpol database or to begin any possible extradition efforts in the future.
Edward, Kent; I deal with forged documents and false passports etc and i would bet my life that this woman Gail is actually a man. Its a bad photo with him clearly exhibiting a adams apple and bad wig.
Dubai police said they are working on the premise the passports are genuine. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
- Alistair Hillier, Sandbanks UK
- Alistair Hillier, Sandbanks UK
Israel's history of state-sponsored assassination
Israel’s spy agency Mossad and the country's special forces have carried out a number of assassinations of Palestinian militants in the past and have also been blamed for killings which the Jewish state has never publicly taken responsibility for.
In addition, the army and air force have carried out so-called ‘targeted killings’ of numerous Palestinian leaders accused of masterminding attacks inside Israel.
One of the highest profile assassinations was the 1988 killing of Khalil al-Wazir, widely known as Abu Jihad, who had been a co-founder of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement. He was killed in his home with his family in Tunis when a hit squad from the Israeli army’s elite Sayeret Matkal, travelling with fake Lebanese passports, burst in as he was watching the news of the Palestinian uprising on the television.
In 1997, Israeli agents also tried to assassinate Khaled Meshaal, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, in his office in Amman at a time when the Islamist group was carrying out suicide bombings inside Israel’s cities.
One of the agents who had infiltrated his office sprayed a powerful nerve agent into his ear, but one of his bodyguards helped Jordanian authorities track down the assassins. They were arrested and held until Binyamin Netanyahu, who was then in his first term as prime minister, agreed to hand over the antidote.
One of the most successful assassinations attributed to Israel, but which it has never acknowledged publicly, was the death of Imad Mughniyah, the head of Hezbollah’s armed wing and the world’s most wanted terrorist before Osama bin Laden carried out the September 11 2001 attacks.
He had been behind deadly attacks against Jewish organisations in Argentina and had transformed the Lebanese militia into the most successful guerrilla group in the Arab world. Israeli and other western spy agencies had been trying to kill him for years when he died in a mysterious explosion In his car in Damascus in 2008.
Israel has also carried out a series of air strikes that killed Hamas leaders, including a rocket attack on the home of the group’s founder and spiritual leader, the quadriplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza in 2004, and then killed his successor, Abdelaziz al-Rantissi, in an almost identical strike just four weeks later.
In addition, the army and air force have carried out so-called ‘targeted killings’ of numerous Palestinian leaders accused of masterminding attacks inside Israel.
One of the highest profile assassinations was the 1988 killing of Khalil al-Wazir, widely known as Abu Jihad, who had been a co-founder of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement. He was killed in his home with his family in Tunis when a hit squad from the Israeli army’s elite Sayeret Matkal, travelling with fake Lebanese passports, burst in as he was watching the news of the Palestinian uprising on the television.
In 1997, Israeli agents also tried to assassinate Khaled Meshaal, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, in his office in Amman at a time when the Islamist group was carrying out suicide bombings inside Israel’s cities.
One of the agents who had infiltrated his office sprayed a powerful nerve agent into his ear, but one of his bodyguards helped Jordanian authorities track down the assassins. They were arrested and held until Binyamin Netanyahu, who was then in his first term as prime minister, agreed to hand over the antidote.
One of the most successful assassinations attributed to Israel, but which it has never acknowledged publicly, was the death of Imad Mughniyah, the head of Hezbollah’s armed wing and the world’s most wanted terrorist before Osama bin Laden carried out the September 11 2001 attacks.
He had been behind deadly attacks against Jewish organisations in Argentina and had transformed the Lebanese militia into the most successful guerrilla group in the Arab world. Israeli and other western spy agencies had been trying to kill him for years when he died in a mysterious explosion In his car in Damascus in 2008.
Israel has also carried out a series of air strikes that killed Hamas leaders, including a rocket attack on the home of the group’s founder and spiritual leader, the quadriplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza in 2004, and then killed his successor, Abdelaziz al-Rantissi, in an almost identical strike just four weeks later.
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