Israeli terrorism hits Palestinians in Malaysia again: Reports

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English + Agencies
18 Oct 2022 11:15
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Israeli aggression on Palestinians exceeds Palestinian borders, hitting in Malaysia this time.

Malaysians protest in support of Palestine.

In a new episode of “Israel's” long series of violating the sovereignty of other countries, Malaysian New Straits Times reported that Israeli Mossad carried out a kidnapping and interrogation operation in the heart of the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

According to the reports published by the news outlet, on September 28, the Israeli Mossad, with the help of local recruits of the spy agency who were trained in the EU, kidnapped a Palestinian in Kuala Lumpur for alleged ties with Hamas and led him to a chalet where he was interrogated through a live stream by Mossad.

“The Israelis wanted to know about his experience in computer application development, Hamas’ strength in developing software, members of the Al-Qassam Brigade that he knew and their strengths,” a source with knowledge of the case told the New Straits Times.

The Mossad operation targeted 2 Palestinian computer programming experts, one of which was left behind, as the Israeli spy agency believed that they have been working with Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades.

According to the report, four Malaysian operatives working for the Mossad drove up to the victims who were in a car together, snatched the one in the driver’s seat, and dragged him to a waiting vehicle as they beat him saying that their “boss wanted to have a word with him."

Infograph of the course of the operation (News Straights Times)

The local Israeli assets warned the other Palestinian who attempted to save his friend to stay away, who in his turn after suspecting that the abductors were Israeli agents ran to a nearby police station and informed the Malaysian authorities.

The source told the news site that “the operatives who did the snatch-and-grab may have had a miscommunication with their Israeli handlers and several other Malaysians waiting at the chalet because they bungled and let the other Palestinian get away... in fact, he would have been the more prized capture.”

The abducted computer programmer, whose phone was discarded on the way, was led to a chalet where he was blindfolded and tied to a chair as a video call was set up with 2 individuals believed to be Israelis who told the victim, “You know why you are here,” as one of the assets was taking orders directly from another Israeli he was in contact with.

"The Israelis wanted to know about his experience in computer application development, Hamas' strength in developing software, members of the Al-Qassam Brigade that he knew and their strengths," the source said.

Read more: Normalization: A stab in the back to the Palestinian cause

A day following the abduction, Malaysian authorities were able to locate the site of the interrogation after tracing the car route, and they raided the room in the middle of the interrogation process as confused Israelis on the live call could be heard saying, “Hello! Hello!” before directly closing the session.

According to the report, the victim was last asked before the police raid about his friends’ relations with Hamas leadership.

"If the Malaysian police had not acted swiftly, the victim would have likely disappeared," the source stated.

The freed Palestinian, who was injured due to being beaten for most of the abduction period, left Malaysia soon after the Mossad operation.

However, this is not the first time that a Palestinian was targeted in Malaysia for alleged relations with the Palestinian Resistance Hamas.

Back in 2018, 35-year-old Palestinian professor, Fadi Mohamed Al-Batsh, was assassinated in a drive-by shooting in the capital. His family stated that the Mossad was behind his killing, while Hamas announced capturing an operative that was recruited by the spy agency to carry out the operation.

“We arrested a person involved in the assassination of engineer Fadi al-Batsh in Malaysia. He admitted to participating in the assassination, which was commissioned by the Israeli Mossad,” a Hamas statement said.

Then Israeli occupation Security Minister, Avigdor Liberman, despite denying “Israel’s” involvement in the assassination, stated that “even if it wasn’t us, there’s no reason to shed a tear,” adding that “this man was no saint. It was not about improving the electrical grid or improving infrastructure and water… He was engaged in the production of rockets, in improving the accuracy of rockets.”

The Times reported back in May, citing unnamed intelligence sources, that a "clear message" was to be sent to the Resistance movement. According to the report, Israeli figures have constantly advocated for killing Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Al-Sinwar. However, instead of moving on with this plan, they are planning on assassinating Hamas leaders living outside Palestine, citing Lebanon and Qatar as examples.

"Israel" has an infamous history of targeting Palestinian leaders living abroad, most notably the 2016 assassination of Mohammed Al-Zoari, who developed Hamas' drone program, and the 2018 assassination of Fadi Mohammed Al-Batsh, who was gunned down by two motorcyclists as he was headed to the mosque for the dawn prayer. Another example is that of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, who, in 2010, was assassinated in his hotel room in Dubai.