Palestinian official accuses Dahlan of collaborating with Mossad

Attempts to bring to justice the killers of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai are apparently no nearer to finding the truth, with accusations and counter-accusations flying between Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the Dubai police. In the latest twist, reports that a Hamas official and his office manager have been “invited” to meet with investigating officers have been denied by Dubai’s chief of police. These reports, he said, “are completely untrue”.

The reports in a Saudi Arabian newspaper claim that the two men “knew al-Mabhouh’s nickname and were aware of his travel dates”. The sources for the article demanded complete anonymity. Neither of the Hamas men were named in the article although media outlets run by Fatah in the West Bank, managed by Mohammed Dahlan, reprinted the story with additional details not given in the Saudi press.

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In Damascus, a member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command and its media spokesman Anwar Raja, accused the Israeli intelligence service Mossad of being the source of the information reported in Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with Dahlan, who is the former head of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service. This is not the first time that he has been accused of having strong links with Israel’s security services.

According to Mr. Raja, “This information is produced by Mohammed Dahlan and the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, and it is intended to tarnish the image of Hamas, sow the seeds of doubt to divert the Dubai investigation’s natural course and cover-up the evidence that some suspects have a functional relationship with Dahlan.”

Investigations conducted by the Dubai police led to the arrest of three Palestinian officers who worked in the Preventive Security Service under Dahlan’s supervision. The security sources said that the three worked to provide logistics for the assassination operation, travelling to Dubai from Cairo where they had received direct instructions from the Palestinian embassy and met with Dahlan at his residence in the Zamalek area of Cairo.