Hamas suspects Mossad behind killing of its commander in Dubai

Palestinians carry a picture of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of Hamas' military wing, as others carry his coffin, left, during his funeral procession at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, near Damascus. File photo: AP.

Weeks after mysterious death of its commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, Hamas has launched an internal probe to determine whether Israeli intelligence agency ‘Mossad’ has managed to infiltrate the top ranks of the Islamist movement.

“The assassination of someone as senior as Mabhouh has rung an alarm bell in Hamas,” a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip told ‘The Jerusalem Post’

“Only a few people in the Hamas leadership knew about Mabhouh’s secret activities and movements.”

Many people in the movement and Syria were convinced that Mossad has infiltrated our top ranks, the official said.

“Obviously, the assassination of Mabhouh is a huge security blunder for Hamas, because it shows that the Israeli agents are sitting among our leaders in Damascus,” he said.

The Hamas leader also said the faction was looking into the possibility that Israel has infiltrated the Syrian security services, which are responsible for the safety of the leaders of all the radical Palestinian groups based in Damascus.

“We don’t rule out the possibility that the Israelis or some other security agency that works with them have recruited a senior Syrian intelligence officer who feeds them with details about the movements and whereabouts of representatives of Hamas and other groups, particularly Hizbullah,” he said.