Irish, Israeli foreign ministers to meet over Dubai death

LONDON/DUBLIN - Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin is set to meet his Israeli counterpart in Brussels Monday at the request of Ireland, as questions continue to swirl around last month’s death of a leader from the Palestinian Hamas movement in Dubai.

Some of the people believed to have killed Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room Jan 20 were carrying Irish passports believed to have been forged with stolen identities. Hamas officials have accused the Israeli secret service, or Mossad, of the murder.

That has, in turn, prompted questions from nations like Ireland, whose nationals’ identities were used by the alleged murderers.

In the case of Ireland, five passports were used. The passport numbers were accurate, but the names were wrong. Martin hopes to get some clarification from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman when they meet.

Speaking in Cork, Martin said the Irish government plans to express deep concerns about the incident and seek reassurances from Israel.

Other countries whose passports were used include Germany, Britain and France. Israel has denied any link to the killings.