this is from the Guardian: The father of Palestinian militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was killed recently, holds up a photograph of his son. Dubai police say they are virtually certain Mossad was behind the murder. Photograph: Hatem Moussa/AP
Interpol should help arrest the head of Mossad if Israel's spy agency was responsible for the killing of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the emirate's police chief said today.
In comments to be aired on Dubai TV, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim called for Interpol to issue "a red notice against the head of Mossad ...
as a killer in case Mossad is proved to be behind the crime, which is likely now".
International pressure intensified against Israel's spy service as official "wanted" notices were released for the suspected team of Israeli secret agents accused of participating in the assassination. The faces of an 11-strong alleged hit squad appeared on the Interpol website this morning, 48 hours after authorities in the United Arab Emirates issued arrest warrants for the killing last month of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
The intelligence world is dirty and grey, and Britain, despite its attempts to be perceived as a moral force, has to play with the dirtiest to ensure that it can share information that is so crucial to maintaining a handle on enemies and potential enemies.
Co-operation with Mossad or with Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, or the Saudis or Algerians is as vital as it is to share in the intercepted signals and intelligence material acquired by the American National Security Agency.
Having a relationship with Mossad has always been difficult. When its agents abuse the intelligence contract by exploiting the virtues of a British passport in the cause of a plot to eliminate one of Israel’s perceived top enemies, it is not surprising that affronted politicians are demanding an apology and a pledge from Israel that such devious methods will never be used again.
However, the anger in London over the murder of the Hamas commander in Dubai is more about Mossad’s temerity in sending six of its agents to the Gulf with British passports. The last time Mossad was caught red-handed with British passports was in 1987, and then Israel promised never again to resort to such deception. No one really believed that Mossad would honour its pledge.In the intelligence business, it’s called “false flagging”, in which secret operators using passports of foreign nationals cover their tracks while travelling incognito to complete covert missions.
Margaret Thatcher ordered the closure of Mossad’s station in London in the 1980s when Israeli agents were flagrantly planning assassination operations against suspected Palestinian militants in exile in Britain. But Mossad returned.
If you work in the intelligence game, you have to be aware of the grey areas. Mossad may have no time for MI6’s more bureaucratic rules, but the Israeli organisation is a unique asset.
This applies not only to the security of its own country but also for the West’s because of its ability to operate secretly in the militant Islamic world. Sharing with Mossad, however, can be a dangerous business.
Similarly, talking to the ISI has the potential for embarrassment. But the arrest of Afghan Taleban commanders in Pakistan has underlined its importance, despite an ambivalent attitude towards the Taleban. Without ISI help, the war in Afghanistan will not be won.
