Hamas to unveil results of probe into engineer’s death

By Wasim Seif al-Din

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Wednesday it will unveil the results of an investigation into last year’s murder of a Hamas-linked drone expert in Tunisia soon.

Mohamed al-Zawari, a Tunisian aviation engineer, was shot dead in late December outside his home in Tunisia’s southeastern city of Sfax. Hamas has blamed Israel for al-Zawari’s death, saying the slain engineer had overseen the group’s drone program.

In a statement, Hamas said it has approved the outcomes of the investigation into al-Zawari’s murder and will announce the results soon.

The Palestinian group said it will deliver copies of the results to “friendly” countries.

“It is the right of the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic public opinion to know the results of the investigation,” the statement said.

Though Hamas has not offered any evidence for its claim of Israeli involvement, the Jewish state is widely believed to have killed numerous Palestinian resistance activists in the past, many of them overseas.

In 1997, agents from Israeli spy agency Mossad tried -- and failed -- to kill Hamas former political chief Khaled Meshaal in Jordan by spraying poison into his ear.

Mossad is also believed to have been behind the assassination in 2010 of top Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh in a Dubai hotel.

Israel has never confirmed or denied its involvement in Mabhuh’s murder.