The Last Exile

If you want a better understanding of the subtleties or undercurrents in the modern Middle East you need to either know Hebrew or Arabic. Personally, I find Hebrew is far more useful given that the Israeli press has a great more latitude and freedom to publish than most Arab countries in the region.

Of course, it is my language of choice and although I am a long way from being mildly literate I can manage to negotiate simple things. All things considered, if neither is an option – spend the time learning how to effectively utilize Google’s translation tools so you don’t miss gems like this one from Ma’ariv. This way you can be the first in your ‘cybersphere’ to know three Iranians had been caught stealing passports from Israeli tourists via a neutral third country even before the Dubai Affair.

And who knew 15,000 Israeli passports are lost, misplaced or stolen every year?

Maybe it would be easier on the Dubai Police if they just started a list naming who was not involved in the death Hamas weapons procutuer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Ynet News:

Dubai has identified 15 new suspects in the assassination of a Hamas official at a Dubai luxury hotel, bringing the total number of people believed involved in the death to 26, the government said on Wednesday. Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was killed last month in his hotel room in what Dubai police have said they are near certain was an Israeli hit. They said the killers travelled to the Gulf Arab emirate on European passports.

Of the new suspects, six carried British passports, three held Irish documents, three Australian, and three French, the Dubai government’s media office said in an emailed statement. Dubai authorities last week released the identities of 11 people whom they said travelled on fraudulent British, Irish, French and German passports to kill Mabhouh. Two Palestinians suspected of providing logistical support were in custody.

“Friendly nations who have been assisting in this investigation have indicated to the police in Dubai that the passports were issued in an illegal and fraudulent manner,” the statement said. Dubai police also released passport photos and closed-circuit television footage of the suspects, and said two of them had left Dubai by boat for Iran.

‘Cause we all know; Iran provides a safe haven for Mossad agents everywhere.

I got an offer for a 10% discount on all Mossad T-shirts from Israeli T-shirt Company this morning. Some days you can’t win for losing.

On second thought – maybe I do need a Mossad T-shirt – with something like the Last Mossad Agent not in Dubai or Exiled Mossad Agent from Dubai …

The Dubai authorities are verring further and further into the ridiculous with Dubai’s Chief of Police now calling on Interpol to seek the arrest of Meir Dagan – head of the Israeli Mossad reports the Jerusalem Post:

Dubai’s police chief directly accused Israel of the killing, and called on Interpol to seek the arrest of Mossad chief Meir Dagan, urging it to issue a “red notice against the head of Mossad.”

A UAE official was quoted by the Associated Press as saying on Thursday that at least 18 people – including two women – were now suspected in what Dubai police have described as a highly coordinated operation to kill Mabhouh.

Did I mention this is not the slightest shred of evidence produced tying the alleged killers (and I do mean ‘alleged killers’) to either the victim, the murder scene or even the Mossad? So good luck with arrest warrant for Meir Dagan but while we are on the topic of arrests – just how and why is it that Dubai is so accommodating to illicit arms-dealing terrorists in the first place? Perhaps, if Dubai would pay more attention to the background of those it offers safe harbour too – the Chief of Police wouldn’t have to worry about ‘visitors’ being offed in the first place.

And while we are speculating, this tidbit needs to be worked into whatever scenario….

The investigation has now widened to the United States. The alleged killers used fraudulent passports to open five credit card accounts through US-based banks, said an official who has close knowledge of the investigation. The official gave no additional details.

This works with my CIA/FATAH joint venture.

And if it wasn’t bad enough that the Dubai Chief of Police is lost in an alternative reality but now the EU is aiding and betting the deranged. Ynet News:

Ahead of Lieberman’s visit to Europe, European Union foreign ministers are expected to condemn assassinations and the use of fake passports on Monday, a move designed to censure Israel over the killing of a Hamas commander in Dubai.

Diplomatic sources said the ministers, meeting in Brussels, may not mention Israel by name but their statement was intended to show disapproval at the assassination last month by a team of assassins.

I cannot wait for Lieberman’s response and can feel the outrage already from the Euroweinies. If there is anything Lieberman knows how to do extremely well – its offending everyone and their grandmothers without even breaking a sweat.

In an otherwise boring article from the British Guardian yammering on about the Mossad’s alleged role in the Dubain Affair this little gem comes to light near the end.

There were more signs tonight the plot was connected with a less obvious country, after claims Austria was used as a communications hub by the squad.

Dubai police identified Austria as ¬”command centre” for the assassins, after mobile phone data showed at least seven numbers originating there. The gang never telephoned each other directly other than with what Dubai police speculated were “encrypted” messages, but contact was maintained via several Austrian mobile phone Sim cards. Austria has confirmed its officials were assessing the claims.

Vienna has a long reputation as a centre of espionage, having been used extensively during the cold war and elements of the sophisticated infrastructure have remained in place. In December 2008 radical Islamic terrorists also coordinated their bomb attacks in Mumbai, in which 160 people were killed, using Austrian mobile phone numbers.

Islamic terrorists have used Austrian mobile phone numbers in operations before. Well, well.

Unlike everyone else I have no idea who is behind the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. While there is no direct or indirect evidence linking Israel to the assassination one would never know it. While the Mossad has used forged passports of other nations it is not the only spy agency to do so nor is it the only spy agency to use targeted assassination. Even though Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on the list of for enemies of the Jewish state; al-Mabhouh was a far cry from anyone’s top 10,000 most beloved list and his enemies were legion. Ha’aretz makes this point quite clear:

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.

A third man, a Hamas security operative, is under arrest in Syria on suspicion of having assisted the hit squad, the British daily The Guardian reported late Wednesday. Palestinian sources in the Gulf said Nahro Massoud was in detention and under interrogation in Damascus, the Guardian reported.

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal has denied the allegation, according to the report, saying “It is not correct at all”. But Palestinian sources insisted Massoud was being questioned amid speculation that potentially senior Palestinian defectors may have been involved in the plot.

Now if we are to continue to believe the Mossad is the only game in Dubai we have two Fatah affiliates, one employed directed in Ramallah and the other a Palestinian intelligence operative, and a potential Hamas turncoat working for the Mossad. All of which makes me ask – is there anyone other than me who is not working for the Mossad?

The Dubai assassination of Hamas weapons dealer gets curious and curiousier. Ha’aretz:

At least five Israelis awoke Tuesday morning to find their names tied to the assassination of senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his Dubai hotel room last month. All were stunned to find their names displayed on passports that police in the emirate said were used by the assailants. However, the people pictured in the photos released by police looked nothing like them. All denied involvement in the affair.

(…)Dubai authorities said 11 European-passport holders were behind the assassination, and on Monday it published their names and photos. The list included six people with British passports, three with Irish passports, and one each from France and Germany.

(…)Meanwhile, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the three Irish passport-holders accused of taking part in the assassination do not exist.

The three identified Monday as Gail Folliard, Evan Dennings and Kevin Daveron do not appear in Ireland’s records of legitimate passport-holders, the Irish government said.

“We are unable to identify any of those three individuals as being genuine Irish citizens. Ireland has issued no passports in those names,” the department said in a statement.

The government added that the Irish passport numbers publicized by Dubai authorities are counterfeit, because they have the wrong number of digits and contain no letters.

British government sources told the Daily Telegraph earlier Tuesday that the Irish passport-holders were most likely Mossad agents carrying false documentation.

Also Tuesday, the Jordanian government confirmed that it had extradited two Palestinians to the United Arab Emirates in connection with the assassination. “We handed over two men holding Palestinian nationality over the past few days to the UAE authorities,” Minister of State for Media Affairs Nabil Sharif said in a statement. “The extradition took place in accordance with observed legal and official rules and the relevant bilateral agreements.”

The Israeli government has an official policy of ‘ambiguity’ in these situations but Rafi Eitan, former Mossad official comes out with the closest to an ‘official’ denial. Ha’aretz

Rafi Eitan, a former government minister and high-ranking Mossad official, denied Israel’s involvement flat-out. “The Mossad was not behind the assassination of Mahmoud el- Mabhouh, but rather a foreign organization that is trying to frame Israel,” he told the radio station.

I’m with Rafi Eitan on this one because of the rather strange and curious facts which have come to light..

The alleged Irish nationals’ passports were complete and utter forgeries from beginning to end. The bogus documents did not even correspond with the Irish’s governments use of a combination of alpha-numerial registration numbers – this speaks of a kind of sloppiness in execution and thinking and potentially suggests an organization which does not necessarily have has a great deal of successful experience in forging documents of foreign nationals.

Then there is the rather curious fact that out of the 11 forged passports five of the forged passports used have ‘stolen’ identities belong to real life civilians. What would be the rationale for the passports to have half-bogus identities and 5 stolen identities? It gets even more curious when the 5 stolen identities just all happen to be foreign born Israeli citizens who just happen to be currently alive and living in Israel.

Are we really to accept an agency for the government of Israel whose mandate is to protect the security of the citizens of Israel would knowingly put place the safety of an innocent Israeli citizens in jeopardy? Even if we were to accept the Mossad now thinks of innocent Israeli citizens as completely ‘expendable’ in running their black ops; how is it possible for the Mossad to guarantee these five citizens would have ‘stayed put’ immediately before, during or after the operation’s execution?

Secondly, the only American born Israeli whose identity was stolen was used in a forged ‘German’ passport rather than in a forged American document which does strike me as rather odd. The other 4 foreign born Israeli nationals’ identities were forged in documents originating in their ‘original’ nationality. What is the rationale for changing the operating mode for this Israeli-American? Why not use a forged American travel document, but no, the operatives decided on using a ‘German’ one but still used the Israeli-American’s correct name and date of birth. Sounds like a half-hearted attempt to protect the only ‘American’ identity exploited by the spooks.

Thirdly, one of the two Palestinians implicated early in the Dubai investigation has substantial ties to the PLO/Fatah and has been turned over to the UAE for questioning by the Jordanians. Asharq Alawsat:

The Dubai Police Force had announced that the Jordanian authorities had handed over two Palestinians suspected of providing logistical support for the assassination of al-Mabhouh into their custody. Dubai Police Chief General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said that one of these Palestinians was a military official in the Palestinian Authority.

Would it surprise anyone to learn that a number of Palestinians currently living and working in UAE were former Fatah officials from the Gaza Strip? The question becomes- who would have access to Israeli citizens’ identities, and yet, still have the money and operational know-how to produce relatively well executed forged passports, an interest in seeking the murder of a Hamas weapons dealer, a working relationship with Fatah and potentially a grudge against the Israelis?

Off the top of my head the only two groups whose interests both converged in this regard are Fatah and CIA. The Americans have a vested interest in seeing the PLO/Fatah come out as top of the Palestinian food chain. Al-Mabhouh was the weapons procurement officer for Hamas which directly threatens American interests and their rather substantial investment with the Fatah leadership. The Fatah leadership has scores to settle with Hamas re: the Gaza Strip. Taking out Mabhouh keeps Abu Mazen and Fatah safer, and if the blame can be pinned on the Israelis – oh well, and so it goes. What is it to either the Americans or Fatah if a few innocent Israeli citizens are too afraid to leave Israel? No skin off the CIA’s or Fatah’s nose.

Updated:
There is a Google News update of an Associated Press article which now has the Irish government acknowledging the alpha-numerical sequence issued on the forced passports was correct.:

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin has said the three Irish passports did have valid numbers but were issued to people with different names than those made public by Dubai.

He said the Foreign Ministry had contacted two people with the same passport numbers and found they had not lost their passports or had any stolen. The assassins apparently had access to pre-2005 passports that lacked biometric information, Martin said

While it has been widely asserted by every one but the Israelis (who are alleged to have done the ‘heavy lifting’) on the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai; it may turn out to be one of the Fatah/Hamas tiffs which plays out in blood from time to time in the Middle East. Jerusalem Post

Fatah and Hamas are trading accusations following the arrest of two Palestinians extradited from Jordan to Dubai on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of Hamas senior Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January, Army Radio reported.

Dubai issued arrest warrants for eleven people allegedly tied to Mabhouh’s killing, but only two were captured so far. The fact that one of the Palestinian detainees is a security official in the Palestinian Authority sparked the latest spate of Hamas-Fatah bickering.

Faik al-Mabhouh, the brother of the slain official, on Tuesday still maintained that Israel was behind the assassination. “I believe Israel is behind my brother’s assassination,” he said a day after Dubai published security camera footage showing the ten men and one woman allegedly involved.

All suspects named by Dubai are European nationals, but Faik al-Mabhouh insisted “from the start we said Israel has a hand in it, [but] it didn’t work alone.” Gen. Dahi Tamim, Dubai’s police chief, displayed a series of passport photographs showing 10 men and a woman at a press conference on Monday. Most of the individuals named by Dubai appeared to be of Middle Eastern origin, Gen Dahi Tamim, Dubai’s police chief said at a press conference where he presented photos of the suspects.

Personally, I appreciate the fact denial and imagination occupy such a large place in the ‘mid-east’ psyche; otherwise there wouldn’t be a hidden Mossad agent under every tree, behind every coroner and on every rooftop in the Middle East just waiting for the opportunity to get take out the sworn enemies of Israel.

UAE may be in a position to answer that question. Ynet News:

Dubai will be issuing an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should it turn out that the Mossad was behind a recent assassination of a senior Hamas man in the Emirates, a police official said Thursday.

The senior official told the al-Jazeera network that Dubai will seek to arrest PM Netanyahu “because of the fact that he was the one to approve the execution of the crime in the United Arab Emirates.” Senior Hamas member Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered in a Dubai hotel on January 20th. However, Hamas only publicized the assassination nine days later.

On Monday, Hamas’ Muhammad Nazal charged that al-Mabhouh was attacked by Mossad agents who ambushed him in his hotel room. “When he arrived, they surprised him,” Nazal said. On Wednesday, Dubai Chief of Police Lieutenant Colonel Dahi Khalfan Tamim warned both Hamas and the Mossad against operating in Dubai territory behind the backs of local authorities

Yadda. Yadda, and Good luck with that but isn’t harbouring a wanted murderer a crime?