A report in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper implicated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the murder. It said Netanyahu met members of the hit squad at Mossad headquarters shortly before they went to Dubai.
Netanyahu was welcomed to Mossad by its chief Meir Dagan and briefed on plans to kill Al-Mabhouh, the paper said, quoting unnamed sources with knowledge of Mossad.
The prime minister reportedly authorized the mission, which was not seen as complicated or risky. "Typically on such occasions, the prime minister intones: 'The people of Israel trust you. Good luck,'" the paper added.
It also quoted a source as saying burns from a stun gun were found on the body of Al-Mabhouh and that there were traces of a nose bleed, possibly from being smothered.
Anwar Gargash, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, summoned EU ambassadors on Sunday to brief them on developments and seek their cooperation on the issue that breached the sovereignty of the country.
"The UAE is deeply concerned by the fact that passports of close allies, whose nationals currently enjoy preferential visa waivers, were illegally used to commit this crime," said a Foreign Ministry statement, carried by the official WAM news agency.
In a separate statement, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said: "The abuse of passports poses a global threat, affecting both countries' national security as well as the personal security of travelers. We fully intend that those responsible are brought to account for their actions.”
Dubai police chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim said last week he was 99 percent sure Israel's intelligence agency Mossad was behind the killing and would seek Interpol's help to arrest its chief if there was enough evidence.
Dubai police released last week the names and photos of 11 murder suspects with European passports — six from Britain, three from Ireland, one from Germany and one from France.
Al-Bayan newspaper on Sunday quoted the police chief as saying some of Al-Mabhouh's killers used diplomatic passports to enter the country. "There is information that Dubai police will not make public for the moment, especially regarding diplomatic passports," Tamim told the newspaper.
Emirates officials close to the investigation said at least two more suspects in the slaying entered the Emirates with fraudulent Irish passports. They also said some of the 18 suspects visited the Gulf city-state for a reconnaissance mission at least once before the Jan. 19 killing of Al-Mabhouh.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The latest allegations bring the number of fake passports allegedly tied to the killing to 13.
Two Palestinians are in custody and three suspects remain unidentified.
On Sunday, Abu Dhabi-based Al-Ittihad newspaper quoted Tamim as saying that “someone from Al-Mabhouh's circle” leaked information on his travel plans to the assassins — a claim Hamas' Gaza-based officials denied.
Tamim called on Hamas to conduct an internal investigation "about the person who leaked information on Al-Mabhouh's movements" and arrival in Dubai to his killers, the paper said.
On Saturday Hamas legislator Salah Bardawil said that Al-Mabhouh unwittingly exposed himself to attack by talking about his trip over the phone and booking his hotel reservations over the Internet — moves that would make him easily traceable if he were already under surveillance.
"The fact that Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was followed by agents of the Mossad does not mean that the movement (Hamas) is infiltrated," a Hamas statement said Sunday.
Hamas has blamed the killing entirely on Israel and vowed revenge. "Hamas rejects all the charges" of infiltration, the statement said. "Hamas always carries out an investigation into the perpetrated crime and hopes to coordinate its actions with (the police force) of Dubai," the statement added.
— With input from agencies
