Mahmoud al-Mabhouh

Al-Mabhouh was born in Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, on 14 February 1960.{{cite news|first=Avi|last=Issacharoff

|author2=Harel, Amos|title=Mystery explosion kills senior Hamas militant in Dubai|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146340.html|newspaper=Haaretz|date=31 January 2010|access-date=31 January 2010|archive-date=3 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203052038/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146340.html}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2010/1/Pages/IsraelblamedformurderoftopHamasleaderinDubai.aspx|title=Israel blamed for murder of top Hamas leader in Dubai |publisher=Emirates Business|date=30 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302180446/http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2010/1/Pages/IsraelblamedformurderoftopHamasleaderinDubai.aspx|archive-date=2 March 2016}} As a young man, he pursued weightlifting. He quit secondary school, trained as a car mechanic and later became a garage owner.{{cite news|first=Donald

|last=Macintyre|author2=Ghazali, Said|title=Profile: Victim's brother tells of 'shadowy and secretive life'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/profile-victims-brother-tells-of-shadowy-and-secretive-life-1904033.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=19 February 2010|access-date=19 February 2010|location=London}} Al-Mabhouh had 13 siblings, and was a married father of four.

In the 1970s, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood, and in the 1980s, he was reported to have been involved in sabotaging coffee shops where gambling was taking place. In 1986, the Israeli security forces arrested him for possession of an assault rifle. It has been reported that after his release, he became involved with Hamas.

According to Hamas, al-Mabhouh was personally responsible for the abduction and killing of the Israeli soldiers Avi Sasportas and Ilan Sa'adon in 1989.After al-Mabhouh's death, Sa'adon's mother was quoted as saying, "I am happy that [his death] has been avenged, but sad that 20 years passed before this happened."({{cite news|title=Israel killed Hamas member in Dubai|url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=167214|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=29 January 2010|access-date=31 January 2010}}) In a video taped two weeks before his death and broadcast on Al Jazeera in early February 2010, al-Mabhouh admitted his involvement in this event, saying he had disguised himself as an Orthodox Jew.{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=168901|title=Mildiner: I woke up a 'murderer'|author=Yaakov Lappin|date=17 February 2010|access-date=22 February 2010}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20100207-slain-hamas-militant-admitted-role-killings |title=Slain Hamas militant admitted role in killings |newspaper=France 24 |date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224053438/http://www.france24.com/en/20100207-slain-hamas-militant-admitted-role-killings |archive-date=24 February 2010 }} In May 1989, a failed attempt was made to arrest him for his involvement in the murder of the two Israeli soldiers and he subsequently left the Gaza Strip; his home in Gaza was demolished by Israel in 1989 as retribution for the attack.{{Cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3841395,00.html|title=Brother of killed Hamas man says electrocuted to death|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=29 January 2010}}

According to a report in The Palestine Chronicle, al-Mabhouh had survived two assassination attempts; the first was a car bombing; the second took place in Beirut in 2009 and involved the use of radioactive poison which rendered him unconscious for 30 hours.{{cite web|url=http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15736|title=Israel Gets Away with Murder .. Again|author=Tammy Obeidallah|publisher=Palestine Chronicle|date=11 February 2010|access-date=20 February 2010|archive-date=17 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217081837/http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15736|url-status=dead}}

He spent most of 2003 in an Egyptian jail.{{cite news|first=Avi|last=Issacharoff|title=Who killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh?|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146911.html|newspaper=Haaretz|date=2 February 2010|access-date=2 February 2010}} At the time of his death, al-Mabhouh was wanted by the Israeli, Egyptian and Jordanian governments, and living in Syria.{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-ap-ml-israel-hamas,0,28026.story|title=Hamas claims Israeli agents assassinated one of group's top operatives in Dubai hotel room|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=29 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604103407/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-ap-ml-israel-hamas%2C0%2C28026.story|archive-date=4 June 2011}}

Just before his killing, al-Mabhouh was alleged to have played a key role in forging secret connections between the Hamas government in Gaza and the Al-Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran.

Mabhouh's nephew Ahmad also joined Hamas and became an engineering and sabotage officer in a Hamas unit near Jabaliya. He was assassinated in an Israeli attack during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4554340,00.html|title = חוסל אחיינו של מחמוד אל-מבחוח|newspaper = Ynet|date = 3 August 2014|last1 = זיתון|first1 = יואב}}

{{Main|Assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh}}

File:Al Bustan Rotana room.jpg room in Dubai.]]

On 19 January 2010, al-Mabhouh was killed in his room in a hotel in Dubai.{{cite news|first=Wafa |last=Issa |title=Al Mabhouh killed hours after arrival |url=http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100201/NATIONAL/701319829/1133/FOREIGN |newspaper=The National|archive-date=20 August 2010 |access-date=1 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820015917/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100201%2FNATIONAL%2F701319829%2F1133%2FFOREIGN}} He had been followed by at least eleven Mossad agents who were carrying fake or fraudulently obtained passports from various Western countries, seven of which assumed the names of Israeli dual citizens. Reports indicated that al-Mabhouh was very closely tracked by his killers from Damascus airport to Dubai.{{cite news|first=Uzi|last=Mahnaimi|title=Israel 'poisoned Hamas leader' |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7009625.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110510021050/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7009625.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2011|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=31 January 2010|access-date=31 January 2010|location=London}} He was travelling without bodyguards, and was en route to Bangkok.{{cite news|first=Roee|last=Mahmias|title=Report: Mabhouh's bodyguards couldn't get plane tickets|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3842015,00.html|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=31 January 2010|access-date=31 January 2010}}{{cite news|first=Yaakov |last=Lappin |title=Dubai police wants Dagan arrested |url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=169099.html |newspaper=JPost |date=19 February 2010 |access-date=19 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604164333/http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=169099.html |archive-date=4 June 2011 }} Although it was reported that he carried five passports under different names, Hamas officials in Syria reportedly stated that at this time he was using a passport issued in his own name.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100131/FOREIGN/701309828/1133|title=Assassinated al Mabhouh travelled to UAE without bodyguards|last=Sands|first=Phil|author2=Wafa Issa|date=31 January 2010|publisher=The National|access-date=7 March 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201052947/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100131%2FFOREIGN%2F701309828%2F1133|archive-date=1 February 2010}}

He checked into the Al Bustan Rotana hotel on the afternoon of 19 January.{{cite news|title=Dubai police identify 11 suspects in Hamas official's death |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/15/dubai.hamas.death/|publisher=CNN|date=16 February 2010|access-date=16 February 2010}} He left the hotel about an hour after check-in, and there were conflicting reports as to what he did during the few hours before he was killed.{{cite news|first=Siham|last=Al Najami|title=Murdered Hamas leader did not meet Iranian official|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/murdered-hamas-leader-did-not-meet-iranian-official-1.581766|newspaper=Gulf News|date=12 February 2010|access-date=12 February 2010}} At approximately 8:25 p.m. Al-Mabhouh went back to his room. He failed to answer a call from his wife a half-hour later.

According to Dubai Police Force, he was dead by 9 p.m. that evening. On 20 January, the following day, his body was found in his hotel room. The door was locked from the inside.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8486531.stm|title=Hamas military commander 'assassinated in Dubai'|publisher=BBC News|date=29 January 2010}} al-Mabhouh's body was transported to Damascus for burial.

Hotel CCTV surveillance footage released to the public shows the agents, who had arrived on separate flights, meeting in the hotel. While the men used encrypted personal communication devices among themselves to avoid surveillance, a number of telephone calls were made to a number in Austria. When al-Mabhouh arrived at around 3 pm, two of the agents on CCTV followed him to his room wearing tennis gear. They then checked into the room opposite al-Mabhouh's. At 8 pm al-Mabhouh left the hotel and while several of the suspects kept watch, two tried to gain entry to his room, but were disturbed when a tourist exited the nearby lift. While another agent distracted the tourist, the other four entered his hotel room using an advanced electronic device and waited for him to return. Hotel computer logs indicated that they successfully reprogrammed al-Mabhouh's hotel door lock at this time.

Initially, Dubai authorities believed al-Mabhouh had died of natural causes.{{cite news|title=Dubai adds more suspects to hit squad|author=Jason Koutsoukis|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=19 February 2010|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/dubai-adds-more-suspects-to-hit-squad-20100218-oiye.html|access-date=19 February 2010}} Results from a preliminary forensic report by the Dubai police found that al-Mabhouh was first paralyzed by an injection of succinylcholine (suxamethonium), a fast-acting muscle relaxant. He was then electrocuted and suffocated with a pillow,{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7044326.ece| archive-url=https://archive.today/20110604233413/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7044326.ece| url-status=dead| archive-date=4 June 2011|newspaper=The Times|location=London|title=Mahmoud alMabhouh was sedated before being suffocated Dubai police say|date=1 March 2010|access-date=12 May 2010|first1=Hugh|last1=Tomlinson}} though their police investigation and final report on the matter would not be ready until the beginning of March. Signs strongly indicated that al-Mabhouh attempted to resist as he was being killed. The paralysis induced by this drug applies only to muscles – the victim remains conscious.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/28/uae.murder.probe/index.html|newspaper=CNN|title=Dubai police chief: Mossad should be 'ashamed' over Hamas killing|access-date=12 May 2010|date=28 February 2010}} Dubai authorities stated they were ruling the death a homicide and were working with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to investigate the incident.{{Cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-01/30/c_13156460.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202070950/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-01/30/c_13156460.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2010|newspaper=Xinhuanet|title=Hamas vows to retaliate for assassination of top Hamas militant|date=30 January 2010}}

Lieutenant general Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of the Dubai Police Force, announced on 18 February 2010 that, "Our investigations reveal that Mossad was definitely involved in the murder of al-Mabhouh ... It is 99% if not 100% that Mossad is standing behind the murder."{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-18-la-fgw-dubai-mabhouh-mossad18-2010feb18-story.html|title=Dubai's police chief accuses Mossad in killing of Hamas commander|date=18 February 2010|access-date=19 February 2010|author=Borzou Daragahi|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} Dubai police said the killers spent little time in the country, arriving less than a day before the murder, killing al-Mabhouh between his arrival at 3:15 p.m. and 9 p.m. that night, and leaving the country before the discovery of the murder.

The Israeli government initially denied and did not comment on claims that it was involved in Al-Mabhouh's death.{{cite news|title=Iran: Assassination was Zionist terror|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3843019,00.html|agency=Reuters|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=2 February 2010|access-date=2 February 2010}} On 17 February, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman refused to confirm or deny any Israeli involvement, citing Israel's "policy of ambiguity" on such matters, and claimed a lack of evidence for Israeli intelligence involvement.{{cite news|title=Israel says no proof it carried out Hamas Dubai killing|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8520247.stm|newspaper=BBC News|date=17 February 2010|access-date=17 February 2010}} Lieberman even declared that the press "watch too many James Bond movies".{{cite web|url=http://www.eurotribune.eu/?p=6170&l=0&idioma=2|title=Lieberman says the press "watch too many James Bond movies"|newspaper=Euro Tribune|access-date=13 June 2010}} Later, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said "there is nothing linking Israel to the assassination."{{cite news|author=Jeffrey Heller |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61K0AW20100221|title=Israel sees little fallout from Dubai killing |newspaper=Reuters|date=21 February 2010|access-date=13 June 2010}} However, Israeli media and public opinion have generally accepted Mossad's responsibility for the operation.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/locals-accept-dubai-assassination-was-mossad-operation/story-e6frg6nf-1225834934957|title=Locals accept Dubai assassination was Mossad operation|newspaper=The Australia|first=Lyons|last=John|date=27 February 2010}}

The identities used by eleven of the agents have been publicly identified, based on passports that the Dubai police said were not forgeries,{{cite web|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/149825/reftab/149/Default.aspx |title=EU passports of Hamas murder suspects not fake: Dubai police |publisher=Arabtimesonline.com |access-date=2010-02-18}}For pictures and passport information, see [http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/details-of-the-prime-suspects-1.583842 Details of the prime suspects] from Gulf News though both the British and Irish governments said the passports bearing their countries' names were "either fraudulently obtained or [are] outright fakes."{{cite web|url=http://www.theweek.com/article/index/106488/Instant_briefing_Dubai_Hit_Squad|title=Instant briefing: 'Dubai Hit Squad'|date=18 February 2010|access-date=20 February 2010|publisher=The Week}} The total number of suspects stands at eighteen, all of whom entered the country using fake or fraudulently obtained passports.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2010/02/19/israeli-secret-service-mossad-to-blame-for-killing-of-hamas-commander-in-dubai-says-police-chief-86908-22054323/|title=Israeli secret service Mossad to blame for killing of Hamas commander in Dubai, says police chief

|date=19 February 2010|author=Chris Hughes|access-date=20 February 2010}} Passports used by the killers were from the United Kingdom (6),{{cite news|first=Adrian|last=Blomfield|author2=Hough, Andrew|title=Dubai accuses British passport holders of killing Hamas chief|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/7246914/Dubai-accuses-British-passport-holders-of-killing-Hamas-chief.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=16 February 2010|access-date=16 February 2010|location=London}} Republic of Ireland (5),{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0220/1224264879232.html|title=Search still on for fifth passport holder|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=20 February 2010|access-date=20 February 2010}} Australia (3),{{cite news|author=Phillip Hudson|url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/top-stories/australian-passport-link-to-assassination-of-mahmud-al-mabhuh/story-e6frg12l-1225845568528|title=Australian passport link to assassination of Mahmud al-Mabhuh|publisher=Herald-Sun|date=25 February 2010|access-date=7 September 2011}} France (1 – suspected of being the hit squad leader and logistical coordinator),{{cite news|author=correspondents in Dubai|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/hit-squad-named-in-dubai-hotel-murder-of-hamas-figure/story-e6frfkyi-1225830830914|title='Hit squad' named in Dubai hotel murder of Hamas figure Mahmud al-Mabhuh|newspaper=New|access-date=18 February 2010}}{{cite news|first=Wafa |last=Issa |title=They came, they killed, and in hours they were gone |url=http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100216/NATIONAL/702159835/1010 |newspaper=The National |date=16 February 2010 |access-date=16 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331144258/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100216%2FNATIONAL%2F702159835%2F1010 |archive-date=31 March 2014 }} and Germany (1).

The names used on the six UK passports and the German passport belong to individuals who live in Israel and hold dual citizenships.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/17/british-israelis-stolen-identities|title=Dubai murder: The British-Israelis who had their identities stolen|author=Rory McCarthy|newspaper=The Guardian|date=17 February 2010|access-date=18 February 2010|location=London}}

The photographs of eleven of the operatives were added to Interpol's most wanted list on 18 February, with a note specifying that they had been published since the identities used by the agents were fake. Dubai security officials carried out routine retinal scans on eleven of the suspects sought in the assassination when they entered the country and Dubai police said they would publish the scans through Interpol.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1150754.html|title=Interpol adds suspected Dubai assassins to most wanted list|author=Avi Issacharoff|newspaper=Haretz|date=18 February 2010|access-date=18 February 2010}}

Two Palestinians, Ahmad Hasnin, an intelligence officer of the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA), and Anwar Shekhaiber, an PA official in Ramallah, were arrested in Jordan and handed over to Dubai, suspected of giving logistical and intelligence assistance.{{cite news|title=Interpol adds suspected Dubai assassins to most wanted list|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1150754.html|newspaper=Haaretz|date=18 February 2010|access-date=18 February 2010}} Hamas said the two were former Fatah security officials who both worked at a construction company in Dubai owned by Mohammed Dahlan, another senior Fatah security official, and that they rented cars and hotel rooms for members of the Mossad hit team alleged to have carried out the killing. Dahlan and Fatah denied the charges.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1151029.html|title=Hamas: Palestinians linked to Dubai hit employed by Fatah strongman Dahlan|newspaper=Haaretz|agency=Associated Press|date=19 February 2010|access-date=19 February 2010|archive-date=28 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328222709/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1151029.html|url-status=dead}} Ahmad Hasnin came to the UAE in 2008, according to a family source.{{cite web|url=http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100220/NATIONAL/702199792/1133/opinion |title=Al Mabhouh suspects' credit cards were in fake names |newspaper=The National |date=19 February 2010 |access-date=19 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105132354/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100220%2FNATIONAL%2F702199792%2F1133%2Fopinion |archive-date=5 January 2015 }}

On 19 February, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim called for Interpol to issue an Interpol red notice to approve the arrest of Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan, causing the Israeli government to deny he has enough proof.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8523588.stm |title=Middle East|newspaper=BBC News|date=19 February 2010|access-date=13 June 2010}}

In early June 2010, German prosecutors announced that at Germany's request Polish authorities had arrested a suspected Mossad agent thought to have played a role in the Dubai assassination of a high ranking Hamas leader.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

"He was arrested in Warsaw and is suspected of being involved in illegally obtaining a [German] passport," a spokesman for German federal prosecution said, confirming a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel.[http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/suspected-mossad-agent-arrested-in-poland-over-dubai-murder-1.640137 Gulf News] 12 June 2010

In the wake of the revelation that passports of British citizens had figured prominently in the operation, the United Kingdom's Serious Organised Crime Agency launched its own investigation into the matter.{{cite news|first=Michael |last=Evans|author2=Booth, Jenny |author3=Tomlinson, Hugh |title=Ex-MI5 boss heads UK inquiry into Dubai assassination |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7030603.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213735/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7030603.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 June 2011|newspaper=The Times|date=17 February 2010|access-date=17 February 2010|location=London}} The British Foreign Office also summoned the Israeli ambassador on 18 February to share information on the matter.{{cite news|title=UK 'invites' Israeli envoy for talk|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=168990|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=18 February 2010|access-date=18 February 2010}}{{cite news|first=Julian|last=Borger|title=Britain summons Israeli ambassador over Dubai murder|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/17/israeli-ambassador-summoned-dubai-murder|newspaper=The Guardian|date=17 February 2010|access-date=17 February 2010|location=London}}

Britain's Foreign Office believes that the passports used were fraudulent;{{cite web|author=Brian Murphy and Barbara Surk|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iwVdaYpYsBz7wKRCUxpcqhtjr31AD9DTEN2O2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220083109/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iwVdaYpYsBz7wKRCUxpcqhtjr31AD9DTEN2O2|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2010|title=Dubai seeks global dragnet for Hamas slaying|publisher=AP|access-date=18 February 2010}} one report indicated that they had issued the passports in January 2010, the only difference between the actual identities being the photographs.{{cite news|title=Dubai assassins stole identities of six UK citizens|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/17/dubai-assassins-stolen-british-identities|newspaper=The Guardian|date=17 February 2010|access-date=17 February 2010|location=London|first=Julian|last=Borger}}

Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs declared that eight supposedly Irish passports used by the suspects were forged.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10319210.stm|title=Irish to expel Israeli diplomat over Hamas killing|date=15 June 2010|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=15 June 2010}} On 15 June, following an extensive investigation, the Department of Foreign Affairs came to "the inescapable conclusion that an Israeli government agency was responsible for the misuse and, most likely, the manufacture of the forged Irish passports associated with the murder of Mr. Mabhouh." The government's immediate diplomatic reaction was that "Israel be requested to withdraw a designated member of staff of its Embassy in Dublin."{{cite web|url=http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=83576|title=Statement on... the investigations into the fraudulent use of Irish passports in the assassination of Mr. Mahmoud al Mabhouh|date=15 June 2010|publisher=Irish Department of Foreign Affairs|access-date=15 June 2010}} The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said Israel's action were "clearly unacceptable".{{cite news |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Mary |title=Israeli official expelled over use of fake passports |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/israeli-official-expelled-over-use-of-fake-passports-1.678818 |work=The Irish Times}}

According to a spokesman of the French Foreign Affairs ministry, the French passport was counterfeit.[https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/editorial/actual/ael2/pointpresse.asp?liste=20100218.html 2 – ASSASSINAT D'UN CADRE DU HAMAS A DUBAI] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725105613/https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/editorial/actual/ael2/pointpresse.asp?liste=20100218.html |date=25 July 2011 }}, Point de Presse, 18 February 2010 The Israeli chargé d'affaires in Paris was summoned on 18 February and the French Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing, "deep concern about the malicious and fraudulent use of these French administrative documents."{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=169035|title= Paris summons Israeli envoy over Mabhouh|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=18 February 2010|access-date=18 February 2010}}

German officials said that the passport number which they received from the authorities in Dubai is either incomplete or does not exist.

After learning of the alleged use of Australian passports by Mossad, the Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, publicly summoned the Israeli ambassador to Australia, Yuval Rotem. Smith told the ambassador that if Israel was responsible for the passport forgeries that "Australia would not regard that as the act of a friend." Soon after this occurred, Australia, who is usually a strong supporter of Israel at the United Nations, abstained on a UN motion to investigate Israeli war crimes committed during the Gaza War, a motion that Australia had previously opposed. In the Australian press there was widespread speculation that the move was retaliation for the passport affair.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/australia-abandons-israel-in-un-vote-20100228-pb70.html|date=1 March 2010|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=Australia abandons Israel in UN vote|first1=Jonathan|last1=Pearlman| first2=Jason|last2=Koutsoukis}}

Australian and British investigators came to Israel to investigate the case.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/with-sorrow-and-regret-smith-declares-coolingoff-period-with-israel-20100524-w5qh.html|date=24 May 2010|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=With sorrow and regret, Smith declares cooling-off period with Israel|first=Mark|last=Davis}} In May 2010, after receiving the final results of the investigation, foreign minister, Stephen Smith told Federal Parliament that the Australian government was "in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of [Australian] passports." Australia ceased co-operation with Israeli intelligence and expelled Israeli diplomat Eli Elkoubi. In June, The Canberra Times revealed that Elkoubi was an officer of Mossad leading Israeli diplomats to complain that the disclosure was a further act of retaliation.Philip Dorling [http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/zygier-close-to-spilling-on-israel-20130214-2eg0l.html Zygier 'close to spilling on Israel'] Brisbane Times 15 February 2013

After al-Mabhouh's death, the United Arab Emirates requested that the U.S. assist it in tracking down "cardholder details and related information for credit cards reportedly issued by a U.S. bank to several suspects." The U.S. denied receiving the request. A leaked cable sent from the U.S. consulate in Dubai, however, showed that the U.S. declined the UAE request.Melman, Yossi (28 December 2010) [http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-declined-to-cooperate-in-dubai-probe-of-mabhouh-killing-wikileaks-shows-1.333608 U.S. declined to cooperate in Dubai probe of Mabhouh killing, WikiLeaks shows] Haaretz

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201101/the-dubai-job-mossad-assassination-hamas The Dubai Job : Mossad assassination Hamas]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100219174931/http://www.qassam.ps/martyr-339-Mahmoud_Al_Mabhouh.html Biography of Mahmoud al-Mahbouh] from the Information Office of the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades

{{Portal|Palestine|Biography}}

{{Commons category|Mahmoud al-Mabhouh}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mabhouh, Mahmoud Al-}}

Category:1960 births

Category:2010 deaths

Category:Hamas military members

Category:Palestinian murderers

Category:People killed in Mossad operations

Category:People murdered in Dubai

Category:Palestinian people murdered abroad

Category:Assassinated Hamas members