The two officials also discussed ways of cooperation between Dubai police and local and international parties with regard to the assassination.
Khalfan said that Israel’s spy agency Mossad could be behind the murder. “It could be Mossad, or another party. Personally, I don’t exclude any possibility. I don’t exclude any party that has an interest in the assassination,” Khalfan said.
“There were seven or more people holding passports from different European countries” in the group suspected of killing Al-Mabhouh, he said.
He refused to name the countries, but added: “We are currently in contact with these European countries to verify the authenticity of the passports.”
Hamas on Friday accused Israel of killing Al-Mabhouh, who was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai on Jan. 20, and vowed revenge. Hamas has acknowledged that Al-Mabhouh was in Dubai to buy weapons for Hamas in its struggle against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Al-Mabhouh, born in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, was behind the capture of two Israeli soldiers, Avi Sasportas and Ilan Sadon, in separate operations in 1989. Both were later murdered.
Khalfan said that “it seems (Al-Mabhouh) opened the door” of his room, letting his killers in. “Al-Mabhouh was suffocated,” he said, adding that “strangulation is possible.”
According to Khalfan, Al-Mabhouh entered the United Arab Emirates a day before his death using a passport that did not bear his family name. “We were not informed by Hamas about the visit,” he said. “It is strange that a person of his importance traveled alone.”
Khalfan met Palestinian Consul General Hussein Abdul Khaliq in Dubai on Sunday to discuss the murder, saying police would “work day and night” to track down the suspects, the official WAM news agency reported.
On Sunday, The Times of London cited unidentified Middle Eastern sources as saying Al-Mabhouh’s body was found by staff at the luxury Al-Bustan Rotana hotel. It said Al-Mabhouh was traveling on a false passport and on arrival in Dubai was followed by two men described by local police as “Europeans carrying European passports.” The hit squad injected Al-Mabhouh with a drug that induced a heart attack, photographed all the documents in his briefcase, and left a “do not disturb” sign on the door, The Times said.
It added that the Hamas commander was on a mission to buy arms from Iran, and was tracked from the moment he boarded Emirates Flight EK912 in Damascus on Jan. 18.
Over the years, a number of Hamas leaders have died in what Israel calls “targeted killings.” In 2004, Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli helicopter gunship attack in Gaza. One month later, another Hamas leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz Al-Rantissi, was killed when two missiles hit his car.
Israel has also targeted Palestinian leaders outside the country and the occupied territories. In 1997, Israeli agents tried to poison Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Amman, while in 1995, Mossad succeeded in killing Islamic Jihad chief Fathi Shiqaqi in Malta.
In 1988, Israeli commandos killed Abu Jihad, Yasser Arafat’s right-hand man, in Tunis. In 1973, commandos — among them current Defense Minister Ehud Barak — killed three Palestine Liberation Organization leaders in Beirut.
A number of high-profile murders have been committed in Dubai in recent years. Sulim Yamadayev, a bitter foe of pro-Russia Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, was shot dead there in March 2009.
In January 2003, Dubai-based businessman Sharad Shetty, suspected to be a close associate of Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was shot in a gangland-style killing at India Club.
Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim was found dead in her Dubai home in July 2008. She had been stabbed and her face was mutilated.
