Dubai police chief: I'll resign if DNA doesn't match
Dhahi Khalfan Tamim challenges Israel to test DNA of suspected assassins of Hamas man Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, says: 'You can lie about anything, but not about DNA'
The investigation into the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has yet to yield any new findings, but it seems the law enforcement authorities in Dubai, where the killing took place, are trying to keep the issue in the headlines at all costs.
Dubai Police Chief Dhahi Khalfan Tamim on Friday addressed reports that his men had obtained the DNA of part of the members of the hit squad and vowed to resign from his post if this claim proves to be false.
"I challenge Israel to bring the suspects there in order to undergo a DNA test and compare them with the samples we have," he said in an interview to the UAE-based al-Khaleej newspaper.
"If it turns out that the results do not match, I will resign. You can lie about anything, but not about DNA," he added.
Tamim recently challenged Mossad chief Meir Dagan to own up to the assassination. In Friday's interviewed he reiterated that he hopes "the Israeli official comes out and takes responsibility for the crime, instead of avoiding it in front of the media.
"If Mabhouh was a terrorist as they claim, then what can be said about the Israelis who carried out this crime on someone else's land?"
Meanwhile, in an interview with the al-Jazeera network, to be broadcast in full on Friday, Tamim said that if he chose to, he would be able to "infiltrate Dagan's office".
He also repeated accusations that one of Mabhouh's aides gave the assassins information on his whereabouts which enabled them to carry out the operation.
