(Jerusalem Post) Arieh O'Sullivan and Khaled Abu Toameh - A story out of Syria alleges that Israeli Mossad agents were captured in an unsuccessful bid to kill Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, head of the movement's political bureau. PA officials in Ramallah said they were unaware of the incident, and one official said he did not rule out the possibility that the story was made up by Mashaal in an attempt to boost his popularity inside Hamas. Prof. Eyal Zisser of the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University said the Mossad story was obviously "fabricated." Last week's attack by a so-called terrorist group in Damascus is seen in Israel as a crude attempt staged by the Syrian leadership to portray Syria as a victim of terrorism rather than a state that supports it. Prof. Moshe Ma'oz, head of the Truman Institute at Hebrew University, said the Syrians are doing everything they can to try and dodge American sanctions - except crack down on terrorism.
2004-05-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive