Fadi al-Batsh
Photo: EPA
Israel denies killing Palestinian in Malaysia
Defense Minister Lieberman denies allegations that Israeli Mossad is responsible for the death of a Hamas member in Malaysia.
Israel's defense minister is denying that his country killed a Hamas-affiliated scientist who was gunned down last week in Malaysia.
Avigdor Lieberman told the Arabic news site Elaph that "we did not assassinate him."
Fadi al-Batsh
When asked in the interview on Thursday who killed Palestinian engineer Fadi al-Batsh, the minister retorted: "Ask James Bond ... maybe James Bond killed him like in the movies."
Al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer at a Malaysian university, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle as he was on his way to a mosque on Saturday.
Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza, accuses Israel of assassinating al-Batsh.
Defense Minister Lieberman (Photo: Avi Mualem)
Palestinian websites have identified al-Batsh as a relative of a senior official in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Khaled Albatsh, who also accused the Israeli Mossad of carrying out the hit and demanded Malaysian authorities to conduct an urgent investigation to expose those responsible for the killing before they have a chance to flee the country.
He is to be buried Friday at a ceremony led by Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top leader.
