Al-Mabhouh was one of the founders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. There is no doubt that his murder is related to the current situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and many people believe that this murder was perpetrated by the Israeli secret service, Mossad.It’s a well-known fact that the secret services of many countries conduct similar operations all over the world, so it wouldn’t be surprising per se that Mossad does the same on Israel’s behalf. At first sight, people may think that eliminating a political leader or a military commander would weaken the organization he belongs to, but one mustn’t forget that such attacks bring the members of these kinds of organizations together, reinforcing their internal solidarity and inciting them to become more violent in order to “get revenge” for their fallen comrade in arms. So if Israel is indeed behind this murder, maybe its real intention was not to weaken Hamas, but to provoke the military elements within it, thus justifying Israel’s harsh methods for tackling the Palestinian problem.
Nevertheless, there are other possible scenarios in which this murder may have taken place. This murder took place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, a close US ally. After the murder, the local police were able to swiftly identify the suspects and issued arrest warrants. It’s impossible not to admire this rapidity and skill, especially for those of us who live in Turkey. Publishing every possible detail about the suspects has assured the preservation of Dubai’s delicate position in the Arab world-Western world balance because this detailed information makes it impossible to imagine that the murderers may have been local people.
The passports used by the suspects to enter the country bring other scenarios to mind. In addition to the nine fake British and Irish passports, there was one French and one German passport, so all from European countries. Even though these were fakes, they have still prompted the international community to think about the role these countries play in the Palestinian problem. If Mossad gave these particular passports to their agents, the intention was probably to bring the European countries, which are not acting openly and or in a principled manner regarding the Palestinian issue, into the spotlight. Such a scenario would be quite useful for the US, too, because there are many countries in Europe that create complications in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The idea of using European passports is either the idea of a third country who wants to pressure the Europeans to make clear choices or Israel’s idea in order to punish these countries.
It seems that international public opinion is already convinced that full responsibility for this murder falls to Israel. In fact, many Israelis wouldn’t be too disturbed if their country was indeed responsible for such an operation. However, they have to admit that for a country which sends its agents to commit such actions in foreign countries, it would be hard to be perceived as a victim, and this may create an uneasy atmosphere that will force Israel to take a step back on certain issues. Unsolved murders are not only the cases in which people ignore the name of he who pulled the trigger, what is unknown are the real identities of the instigators. The real targets of political assassinations are never real people, but systems. As in Turkey, there is a link between unresolved murders and a regime crisis. The Dubai killing is the precursor of a serious regional crisis.
