Mossad agent arrested in Poland

Thursday, June 17, 2010 | by

An alleged Mossad spy wanted in Germany in connection with the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai was arrested in Poland.

The arrest earlier this month of Uri Brodsky, and his possible extradition to Germany, could lead to a diplomatic row between Germany and Israel, according to reports.

Germany wants Brodsky extradited to face charges of falsifying documents to obtain a German passport, but according to news reports, Israel has pressed Poland not to extradite him. Der Spiegel magazine reported that Brodsky, an Israeli citizen suspected of working for the Mossad in Germany, was taken into custody upon arrival at Warsaw’s airport earlier in June.

Brodsky is suspected of having helped another Mossad agent, reportedly named Michael Bodenheimer, to illegally obtain a German passport as part of the plot to assassinate senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room in January. According to the German federal prosecutor’s office, Bodenheimer received German citizenship based on fabricated evidence that his parents had fled Nazi Germany.

Mabhouh co-founded the military wing of the Islamist Hamas movement. — jta