Israeli arrested over Hamas assassination

An Israeli alleged to be a Mossad agent involved in the assassination of a Hamas militant in Dubai and obtaining a German passport under a false name has been arrested in Poland.

Germany is seeking the extradition of the man, said to be using the name Uri Brodsky, and believed to be the first Israeli arrested in connection with the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.

A spokesman for the German Federal Prosecutor's office said the man, the subject of a warrant issued by Germany, was arrested in early June after arriving in Poland. The Polish prosecuting authorities have said that the man appeared before a Polish court on 6 June and was ordered to remain under temporary arrest for another 40 days.

They have made no comment on extradition proceedings. Israel's foreign ministry has confirmed that they are giving consular assistance to an Israeli detained in Warsaw—while declining to confirm reports that Israel is opposing the extradition sought by the German authorities.

Der Spiegel reported in February that a man said by Dubai police to have used the name Michael Bodenheimer had successfully applied for a German passport with that name in Cologne last summer, saying he was an Israeli now living in the city. According to the report, the address he gave as his last in Israel turned out to be in an office block in Herzliya.