Hamas accused Israeli agents accompanying National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau to the United Arab Emirates two weeks ago of assassinating one of its top operatives, Mahmoud Mabhouh.

A senior source in the Prime Minister’s Office said Israel had no comment on the matter.

However, it was pointed out that Landau’s delegation, in the UAE for an alternative energy conference, and which consisted of fewer than 10 people, was guarded by an eight-man UAE security team, from the time it landed on a Friday morning in Abu Dhabi – some 120 km. away from Dubai – until the time it flew out of the UAE.

The Landau delegation hardly left the hotel, only taking one brief site-seeing excursion, and was accompanied throughout by the UAE security detail.

Landau served as a Major in the Paratroopers, and was Minister of Internal Security in Ariel Sharon’s government in 2001.