Hamas claims man killed in Kuala Lumpur
A Palestinian lecturer who was shot dead in Kuala Lumpur yesterday was a member of Hamas, the group said.
Fadi Al Batsh, an engineering lecturer, was a loyal member and a “scientist of Palestine’s youth scholars”, Hamas said. He was “assassinated at treacherous hands on Saturday ... as he walked to dawn prayers”.
While Hamas stopped short of blaming Israel, Al Batsh’s family have, according to news agencies, accused Israel’s intelligence agency of targeting him.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government was looking into the possibility of the involvement of “foreign agents” in his killing.
Two unidentified men on a motorbike fired at least eight shots at the man, the Kuala Lumpur police said. He died immediately. Closed-circuit television showed the assassins had waited for him for almost 20 minutes, the police said. Police chief Mazlan Lazim declined to comment on whether Al Batsh was a member of Hamas, when asked by Reuters.
“It’s too early to say, we are still investigating all aspects.”
Al Batsh’s cousin, Khaled Al Batsh, a senior official of Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, accused Israel’s Mossad espionage service of carrying out the assassination, the Associated Press reported. However, he did not provide evidence.
Al Batsh’s uncle, Jamal Al Batsh, speaking to Reuters, also said he believed the killing was the work of Israel’s dirty tricks agency.
When asked who he blamed, he said: “The Israeli Mossad. The Israeli Mossad stood behind the assassination of educated people and intellectuals because Israel knows Palestine will be liberated by scientists.
“Therefore, they tracked this young educated man.”
There was no comment from the Israeli government. However, Israel has a long history
of targeting wanted Palestinian militants and has been connected to other assassinations as well, although it has never acknowledged those operations.
Last year, Hamas accused Mossad of assassinating its drone expert, Mohammed Zawahri, in Tunisia.
Zawahri, a former Tunisair pilot, was shot dead in December 2016. Speaking to the press in November-last year, Mohammed Nazzal, a member of Hamas who had led an investigation into the assassination, laid the blame squarely at Israel’s door. He also claimed that Zawahri had been under Mossad surveillance for months before his death.
Hamas, which has de facto control of Gaza, is a bitter enemy of Israel and the two sides have fought three wars since 2008. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as mass protests along the Gaza-Israel border led to the killing of 32 Palestinian demonstrators by Israeli troops.