By IRNA,
Berlin : Israel’s charge d’ affaires, Emmanuel Nahshon was summoned to the German foreign ministry in Berlin on Thursday over his country’s role in the recent brutal murder of a leading Hamas official in Dubai.
German Foreign Ministry’s Middle East envoy, Andreas Michaelis urged the Israeli official to provide information which might help explain the circumstances surrounding the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a luxury hotel in the Persian Gulf sheikdom on January 20.
The meeting at the German foreign ministry came after authorities in Dubai said they were almost sure that Israel’s notorious secret service, Mossad, was behind the death of al-Mabhouh.
Dubai announced 11 forged European passports were used by the alleged killers.
Six of the fake documents included the names of Brits living in Israel and three were in the name of Irish citizens.
One French and one German passport were also used.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reiterated the need for Israel to help clarify its role in the affair.
“In view of the information available so far, I believe it is imperative to explain the circumstances surrounding the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh,”
Westerwelle said.
“Germany will do everything it can to contribute to resolving the matter,” he added.
In other related news, two German opposition parties have called for a parliamentary probe of the scandal.
Germany’s foreign intelligence service BND has so far refused to react to Arab press reports which alleged that a German national was implicated in the killing of al-Mabhouh.
The Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Der Spiegel identified the German suspect as 43-year-old Michael B.
Mossad death squads have in the past used German passports for secret operations although some of them had been forged, according to press reports.
Germany and Israel have a very deep military and intelligence cooperation whose details remain highly secretive to the German public.