Al-Manar
03/03/2010 Israeli officials remained silent on Wednesday in the wake of a Dubai police decision to seek the arrest of the Israeli prime minister and the head of its spy agency over the assassination of a top Hamas commander in the Gulf emirate.
Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office nor the foreign ministry would comment on Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan's order for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Mossad chief Meir Dagan.
Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday that Khalfan "said he would ask the Dubai prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for ... Netanyahu and the head of Mossad." It did not give details.
He also said he did not believe Israel's prime minister would be arrested as a result, but emphasized that "whoever gave the order for the assassination is a murderer."
Khalfan has said he is 100 percent sure that Israeli agents were involved in the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at a Dubai hotel in January, calling for Mossad's boss, Meir Dagan, to be arrested if it is proved responsible. Khalfan said on Monday Mossad had "insulted" Dubai and Western countries whose fraudulent passports were used by suspects in the assassination.
Earlier in the day, Khalfan said that authorities in the Gulf emirate would be on the lookout for “Jews.”
A Channel 2 News broadcast Monday night showed Khalfan pointing at his own face and saying, “We know how to recognize them.” The United Arab Emirates will “deny entry to anyone suspected of having Israeli citizenship,” he said, adding that Israelis with dual nationality would be denied entry.
“We will not allow those who hold Israeli passports into the UAE no matter what other passport they have,” Khalfan said. Police will “develop skills” to recognize Israelis by “physical features and the way they speak,” he said.
Dubai has asked the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into prepaid cards issued by the Meta Financial Group's MetaBank which the suspects used, a United Arab Emirates newspaper said.
Citing an FBI source, The National newspaper said the investigation would look into any Israeli involvement in the killing. "Thirteen of the 27 suspects used prepaid MasterCards issued by MetaBank, a regional American bank, to purchase plane tickets and book hotel rooms," the newspaper said, quoting Dubai police.
MetaBank said it followed proper procedures when it issued the cards.
Authorities told the bank that the suspects appeared to have used stolen passports to get employment with U.S. companies, MetaBank said in a statement on Tuesday. The companies paid the employees with prepaid cards issued by MetaBank and other banks.
MetaBank said it had launched its own review of the matter, and had so far found that it followed all bank and regulatory requirements.
The suspects authorities had identified were not on any list that would indicate their identities were fraudulent, it said.
The UAE, a U.S.-allied Arab state that backs the Palestinian drive for an independent state and an end to Israeli occupation, has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
But it has established low-level political and trade links in recent years, with some Israeli officials attending events in the Gulf Arab state.
Members of the hit squad used fraudulent passports from Britain, Ireland, Germany, France and Australia. The passport abuse has drawn criticism from the European Union, and some of the governments involved have summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries to protest.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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