Malaysian media: Israel’s Mossad is behind kidnapped Palestinian

Kuala Lumpur (QNN)- Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad is believed to be behind the abduction of a Palestinian man who was snatched from a street in the capital Kuala Lumpur and interrogated before being freed by Malaysian police.

The Palestinian man was bundled into one of two waiting cars by four men involved in the “snatch-and-grab” operation on the night of September 28 in the heart of the capital just after 10pm, when he and his Palestinian friend were about to enter their vehicle after having dinner at a nearby mall, Al-Jazeera and Malaysia’s New Straits Times reported on Tuesday.

The kidnapped man, who was not named but identified as a computer programmer, was beaten as he was driven to a house on the outskirts of the capital. He was blindfolded and tied to a chair, and he was interrogated over a video call on matters related to the Palestinian political organisation pf Hamas and its armed wing the Qassam Brigades.

“A video call had been set up in front of the victim. On the line were two men, believed to be Israelis, whose opening line to him was: ‘You know why you are here,’” the New Straits Times reported.

“For the next 24 hours, the victim was interrogated and beaten by the Malaysian operatives when his answers were not to the Israelis’ satisfaction,” the news organisation added.

“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 source also said the team of kidnappers – identified as Malaysians – had “bungled” the operation as they had let the second Palestinian man get away. The Malaysian operatives had also failed to cover their faces and had not placed fake registration plates on their vehicles, the source said.

The second Palestinian man, described as a “more prized capture”, was able to raise the alarm with police who traced the car registration plates to a house where the kidnappers were arrested and the man freed. He was warned to stay away when his friend was beaten.

Both Palestinians have since left Malaysia, according to the report.

A “well-informed Malaysian source” confirmed to Al Jazeera Arabic that an investigation had uncovered a “Mossad cell” in the country that was involved in spying on important sites, including airports, and seeking to penetrate “government electronic companies”.

The source said Mossad had employed Malaysian operatives it trained in Europe to carry out the operation, according to Al Jazeera Arabic, which also cited Malaysian media as reporting that Mossad had recruited a cell of at least 11 Malaysians focused on tracking down Palestinian activists.

In May last year, Israeli media reported that ‘Israel’ had declared war on Hamas worldwide. Top Israeli officials had said they would go after all Hamas leaders, wherever they were. They said Israeli forces would target Hamas leaders not only in Gaza, but in Iran, Qatar, Turkiye, and Malaysia, as well.

Mossad was previously linked to the 2018 assassination in Malaysia of Palestinian academic and a member of Hamas, Fadi al-Batsh, who was gunned down on his way to morning prayers in Kuala Lumpur. Al-Batsh’s relatives accused Mossad of being behind the killing.

The Israeli spy agency has denied involvement despite Hamas having allegedly captured a man, who had confessed to having been assigned the job by Mossad.