British government set to accuse Israel of Dubai killing of Hamas commander

Britain is expected to formally link Israel to the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January, according to a report by the British newspaper ‘The Daily Telegraph’.

Israel’s ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, was summoned to the Foreign Office in London on Monday to be told that results of an inquiry into the murder of Mabhouh have determined for certain that British passports were forged as part of the operation, according to the report.

Mabhouh was found dead in his hotel room  in Dubai in what police there have said was a hit by the Mossad, Israel’s secret service. Police said the killers traveled to the Gulf state on false passports of several European countries and of Australia.

The Daily Telegraph said there was growing speculation that a senior Israeli diplomat would be expelled as a mark of the “anger” within the British government that UK passport holders had been put at risk as a result of the operation.

A ministerial statement due to be made to the UK Parliament will formally name the Israeli security services as responsible for the faking of up to 15 British passports. The statement will say that it proved impossible to confirm definitively whether Mossad was responsible for the operation, with suspicion also resting on Israel’s military intelligence agency. However, the probe had determined for certain that the passports were cloned when UK citizens passed through airports on their way into Israel, with Israeli officials taking them away for “checks” that lasted around 20 minutes, the newspaper reports.