New York - NY Credit Card Firm Linked To Dubai Hit |
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Mahmoud al-Mabhouh (foreground) is followed to his Dubai hotel room Jan. 19 by members of a hit squad.New York - A New York-based firm that provided suspects in the assassination of a senior Hamas commander in Dubai with credit cards has ties to former Israeli military officials, according to new details of the stunning plot.
Dubai police, who say the murder was carried out by an Israeli hit team, said most of the prepaid credit cards used to purchase air tickets and book hotels for the attack were issued by an Iowa bank, Metabank.
Metabank, in turn, got the cards from privately held Payoneer, which has a Park Avenue office and a research-and-development center in Tel Aviv, Israel, authorities said.
Payoneer’s CEO is Yuval Tal, a former member of the Israeli special forces, according to Fox News, which used him as a commentator during Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah.
“It’s a war that they cannot lose,” Tal said on Fox at the time.
Payoneer has other Israeli ties.
Among its investors is Greylock Partners, which hired a former Israeli army intelligence officer, Moshe Mor, to head its expansion into Israel in 2003.
Other financial backers of Payoneer are Israeli-based Carmel Ventures and Crossbar Capital, whose co-founder previously headed an Israeli venture-capital firm.
After the Dubai hit, Payoneer said it was cooperating in the investigation. Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the firm said Tal was unavailable and that the company “is providing no further comment on the matter.”
The latest disclosures came as Interpol issued 16 international arrest warrants in the Jan. 19 murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a founder of Hamas’ armed wing.
Information coming from Dubai supported claims that the 16 suspects were members of a support team that “aided and abetted” a smaller group that allegedly drugged and suffocated Mabhouh in his hotel room, Interpol said.
In all, 27 people used a variety of bogus names and faked passports in the assassination plot, which began a year ago, Dubai investigators said.
Dubai’s police chief, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said last week that all the suspects are back in Israel. He said he was “99 percent if not 100” percent certain the assassination was carried out by Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Israeli officials said they don’t know who killed Mabhouh, but welcomed his death.
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Total21
Read Comments (21) — Post Yours »
1
Mar 09, 2010 at 08:48 AM Yiddishe Kop Says:Report as Inappropriate
Why did they need 27 operatives to kill one cockroach?
This does not seem to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop.
2
Mar 09, 2010 at 09:27 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Why did they need 27 operatives to kill one cockroach?
This does not seem to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop. ”
Your comment doesn't seem "to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop". Are you so familiar with how to plan and implement assassinations that you know how many people it should take to carry one out? I suspect you are less familiar than the Mossad.
3
Mar 09, 2010 at 09:32 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Why did they need 27 operatives to kill one cockroach?
This does not seem to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop. ”
I agree; it is very puzzling to me. It doesn't make sense to endanger a third of their field agents on one assignment.
4
Mar 09, 2010 at 09:38 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
What a botched operation!
5
Mar 09, 2010 at 10:15 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ What a botched operation! ”
Why do you say that? The guy is dead and the only thing they have to go by is pictures of the team in disguise and fake names.
What should they have done differently?
6
Mar 09, 2010 at 10:17 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Everybody in Israel has either been in the defense for we himself or is related or has connections with someone who was. So what!
7
Mar 09, 2010 at 10:17 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Your comment doesn't seem "to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop". Are you so familiar with how to plan and implement assassinations that you know how many people it should take to carry one out? I suspect you are less familiar than the Mossad. ”
The only worse thing would have been if the plan had been detected while it was going on.
8
Mar 09, 2010 at 10:59 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Why did they need 27 operatives to kill one cockroach?
This does not seem to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop. ”
Dubai is $109 Billion in debt, their new skyscraper that just opened with all the hype already had an elevator accident, the Palm Islands (or whatever it's called) is sinking into the water. Don't you think they needed something big to happen to have other stories pop up when a Google search is done on Dubai?
How about bumping off a terrorist and pretending that Israel did it? Fellow oil rich countries would be proud of the way they continue to embarrass Israels "incompetence" compared to their "advanced methods".
The method is simple. Get enough data from Facebook (or anywhere else for that matter) on dual Israeli and European citizens (Israelis can't come in unless they have dual citizenship) to create a fake passport (full name, birth date, place of birth- out of a few hundred million users it should be easy to obtain that information on a few dozen people). Do a Google search for a financial institution that is run by an Israeli, preferably one that served in the IDF, and use them to load money on a pre-paid credit card.
Enough fingers pointing at Israel, yet no proof.
Hmmmm?
Get the chief of police to say he is 100% sure it was Israel.
There's your proof.
9
Mar 09, 2010 at 11:35 AM Mabrouk! Says:Report as Inappropriate
Great work, whoever did this! Lots of mazal and beracha to everybody involved in this mitzva!
10
Mar 09, 2010 at 11:47 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
No. 8 u r onto something!
11
Mar 09, 2010 at 12:13 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
reply to #8
You nailed it. Your analysis is stunning!!!!!! This is the best explanation as of yet. Why are the Dubais itching to be in the news EVERY DAY for the last who knows how long?
12
Mar 09, 2010 at 12:23 PM anonesq Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Your comment doesn't seem "to emanate from a Yiddishe Kop". Are you so familiar with how to plan and implement assassinations that you know how many people it should take to carry one out? I suspect you are less familiar than the Mossad. ”
I'm sure he's not familiar. Are you?
Bottom line, I've read all the Daniel Silva books starring Gabriel Allon, and 27 people seems like it is more than necessary for the Job.
13
Mar 09, 2010 at 12:25 PM Askupeh Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ I agree; it is very puzzling to me. It doesn't make sense to endanger a third of their field agents on one assignment. ”
Would make a lot of sense if you knew what they know.
14
Mar 09, 2010 at 12:32 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Mendel meets Christopher and they discussed the Dubai job. Christopher
has a dozen questions why, when and where and is prepared to give advice to the Mossad.
Mendel replies with a question as it is customary: tell me Christopher
how much does the daily feces of a chicken weigh? Christopher replies
immediately, 245 gr. Mendel's comments, great.
Now tell me the weight of the feces of a dog? he replies 650 gr. Mendel
says: just beautful.
And how nuch is the weight of the daily output of a cow? Reply: 20.3 Kg.
Mendel says, you are a genious.
Do you know how much is the weight of the daily elephant feces? Sure,
44 5 kg.
Mendel: I never saw in my lifetime an expert on feces as you,
but it doesn't mean that you understand the first thing about espionage .
You now have the correct reply to all the Chochmoligy your readers are commenting.
15
Mar 09, 2010 at 01:22 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ reply to #8
You nailed it. Your analysis is stunning!!!!!! This is the best explanation as of yet. Why are the Dubais itching to be in the news EVERY DAY for the last who knows how long? ”
I would have loved to keep on going but I was limited to 1200 characters.
But why did the agents "pose" in front of the security cameras?
Here's a story from high school.
The Yeshiva had a problem of guys gaining access to the kitchen and nothing that they tried helped. Finally they decided to catch the guys red handed (actually "blue" handed). I'm not sure where they got this from (maybe a spy catalogue) but they got this powder that once one washes their skin after contacting it the skin turns blue for 72 hours.
The guys found out about this plan and used gloves.
Then next day the administration was celebrating. The guys did a sloppy job! They finally caught them!
They checked everyone's hands and came up empty handed- except for one guy who claimed that he contracted a highly contagious flesh eating disorder and refused to remove his right hand from his pocket. This, they told him, was proof that it was him.
The Yeshiva brought in a local doctor who checked his hand and diagnosed it as "nervous picking of the skin", and non contagious.
At the end, besides for getting away with it he also got a public apology!
Does that answer the question?
16
Mar 09, 2010 at 02:27 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ What a botched operation! ”
You know any better?! Leave your number and the Mossad will call you, next time they need to conduct a secret operation!!!
17
Mar 09, 2010 at 03:39 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
who cares who killed him - every arab, israeli, european, asian, american, etc., etc. is happy that he's gone.
18
Mar 09, 2010 at 03:59 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
There is no way no how that Israel would need or use 27 people. The more people you have involved, the greater the chance of failure. The whole thing is baloney. Just saying.
19
Mar 09, 2010 at 05:34 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Dubai is $109 Billion in debt, their new skyscraper that just opened with all the hype already had an elevator accident, the Palm Islands (or whatever it's called) is sinking into the water. Don't you think they needed something big to happen to have other stories pop up when a Google search is done on Dubai?
How about bumping off a terrorist and pretending that Israel did it? Fellow oil rich countries would be proud of the way they continue to embarrass Israels "incompetence" compared to their "advanced methods".
The method is simple. Get enough data from Facebook (or anywhere else for that matter) on dual Israeli and European citizens (Israelis can't come in unless they have dual citizenship) to create a fake passport (full name, birth date, place of birth- out of a few hundred million users it should be easy to obtain that information on a few dozen people). Do a Google search for a financial institution that is run by an Israeli, preferably one that served in the IDF, and use them to load money on a pre-paid credit card.
Enough fingers pointing at Israel, yet no proof.
Hmmmm?
Get the chief of police to say he is 100% sure it was Israel.
There's your proof. ”
The observation deck is still closed due to the accident. Go to their website and try booking tickets.
20
Mar 09, 2010 at 05:59 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ I would have loved to keep on going but I was limited to 1200 characters.
But why did the agents "pose" in front of the security cameras?
Here's a story from high school.
The Yeshiva had a problem of guys gaining access to the kitchen and nothing that they tried helped. Finally they decided to catch the guys red handed (actually "blue" handed). I'm not sure where they got this from (maybe a spy catalogue) but they got this powder that once one washes their skin after contacting it the skin turns blue for 72 hours.
The guys found out about this plan and used gloves.
Then next day the administration was celebrating. The guys did a sloppy job! They finally caught them!
They checked everyone's hands and came up empty handed- except for one guy who claimed that he contracted a highly contagious flesh eating disorder and refused to remove his right hand from his pocket. This, they told him, was proof that it was him.
The Yeshiva brought in a local doctor who checked his hand and diagnosed it as "nervous picking of the skin", and non contagious.
At the end, besides for getting away with it he also got a public apology!
Does that answer the question? ”
No, I got bored and stopped reading your posting half way through the megilla.
21
Mar 10, 2010 at 07:27 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ The observation deck is still closed due to the accident. Go to their website and try booking tickets. ”
They're going to turn it into a shrine and a museum, hoping for some terrorist tourism to pick up their economy.