Feb 17 (Reuters) - IsraelI Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman said on Wednesday there was no proof that the Mossad
spy agency assassinated a Hamas commander in Dubai, despite the
suspected hit squad's use of the identities of foreign-born
Israelis.
Few Israeli commentators, however, appeared to doubt the
Mossad had a role in the Jan. 20 death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh,
which became a cause celebre after Hamas demanded a murder
investigation.
Here are some previous international scandals involving
Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies.
* 1954 - Egypt cracks Israeli Military Intelligence cell of
Egyptian Jews who firebombed sites frequented by Westerners to
embarrass Cairo and stop it nationalising the Suez Canal. Two
are hanged, one commits suicide and six others are jailed.
Israeli Defence Minister Pinhas Lavon quits, though denies
authorising plot.
* 1963 - Swiss police arrest an Israeli and an Austrian
after a German scientist's daughter accuses them of threatening
her -- part of a Mossad intimidation campaign against Germans
suspected of helping an Egyptian missile programme. Mossad chief
Issar Harel resigns. Detainees are freed after a few months.
* 1967 - Two suspected Mossad officers arrested in Germany
while breaking into a home believed to belong to a former
official of the Nazi Gestapo. They are released as a goodwill
gesture to Israel after the 1967 Middle East war.
* 1973 - Mossad assassins shoot dead a Moroccan-born waiter
in Norway, mistaking him for one of the Palestinian masterminds
of an attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics in which 11 Israeli
athletes died. Five Mossad officers are tried, but eventually
released. Israel offers compensation to the waiter's family.
* 1985 - U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for
passing intelligence to Lakam, an Israeli agency specialising in
scientific cooperation. Israel apologises to the United States
and dismantles Lakam. Pollard is sentenced to life in prison.
* 1987 - Britain protests to Israel about what London calls
the misuse by Israeli authorities of forged British passports,
and says it received assurances there would be no recurrence.
* 1991 - Four Israelis are arrested during an apparent
attempt to bug the Iranian embassy in Cyprus. They are released
for lack of evidence.
* 1997 - Two Mossad assassins are captured by Jordanian
authorities after a failed attempt to kill Khaled Meshaal, a
leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas. They are sent home
after Israel frees jailed Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin.
* 1998 - A group of Israelis is discovered trying to tap the
phones of a suspected Lebanese Hezbollah militant in
Switzerland. In a closed-door trial, one Israeli, described in
the media as a Mossad officer, is fined and given a suspended
jail sentence. His three accomplices are released.
- In Cyprus, two suspected Mossad officers are arrested and
charged with spying on sensitive military installations. They
are released after nine months in prison under a plea bargain.
* 2004 - Two Israelis are sentenced to six months in jail by
an Auckland court after they admit trying to obtain a New
Zealand passport fraudulently. Wellington suspects they are from
the Mossad and suspends relations with Israel in protest. A year
later, Israel apologises to New Zealand, which restores ties.
* 2010 - UAE police say they issued international arrest
warrants for suspects in the killing of Mabhouh, who include
German, British, French and Irish passport-holders. Two
Palestinians are also held by the UAE for suspected complicity.
(Writing by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Additional writing by
David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by David
Stamp)