UN official confirms Israel abducted Palestinian engineer from Ukraine

[Carsten Wiethoff]

From http://intelligencenews.wordpress.com/20...#more-6250

A UN official has confirmed that a Palestinian engineer, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in Ukraine on February 19, is currently in Israeli custody. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior, Dirar Abu Sissi, 42, who was born in Jordan, but has lived in the Gaza strip for over a decade, had gone to Ukraine to apply for citizenship in the Eastern European country. His Ukrainian wife, Veronika, said Sissi disappeared in the early morning hours of February 19, shortly after boarding a train from Kharkiv to capital Kiev, in order to reunite with this brother, a Dutch national, whom he had not seen since 1997. His disappearance has puzzled Ukrainian police investigators. But on Thursday, Maksim Butkevych, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine, told the Associated Press that Sissi was kidnapped by Israeli operatives and is currently in prison in Israel.

[Magda Hassan]

This is a worrying event. I wonder if there will be any word from the Ukraine? None so far.

[Magda Hassan]

A Ukrainian news source reported in late February that the Mossad kidnapped the chief engineer of Gaza's only power plant in Ukraine:

The wife of a Palestinian engineer has accused the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad of abducting her husband. Derar Abu Sisi went missing five days ago while visiting his Ukrainian wife in her home country.
The Ukraine-based Al Raed Press said that Mr. Abu Sisi is the head of operations at the only power station in the Gaza Strip and was on a visit to Ukraine when he disappeared during a train journey on 18 February. Mrs. Abu Sisi accused Mossad of kidnapping her husband…She stressed that her husband is a governmental employee in Gaza but is not involved in any political activities and is not a member of any political party or movement.
"My husband didn't have any enmity against any person or entity in Palestine or Ukraine, and he is not a prominent business owner or rich enough to be kidnapped by a gang," she added.
…Railway staff on duty on the night of the disappearance had claimed in an early statement that two people in plain clothes boarded the train at a station and kidnapped the Palestinian engineer after they showed him identity cards claiming that they were security personnel. The railway employees then changed their statements, claiming that everything was fine and that no one was kidnapped from the train. The media reports claim that the officials changed their story under pressure from the Ukrainian police.
According to Irenynko Mykola, a lawyer and president of a Ukraine human rights organization, there are no mutual cooperation agreements between Ukraine's intelligence service and the Mossad. If it is proven that the Israeli agency did carry out the kidnap it will raise many questions about Mossad activity in the former soviet republic.

Now an Israeli source confirms that Dirar Abu Seesi (note correct spelling) is being held incommunicado in an Israeli prison where he's being interrogated.
My source does not yet tell me what he's charged with, but one can presume if a detainee is being interrogated it's on an intelligence-security related issue. Usually when they arrest a Palestinian outside Israel or who's recently been outside Israel they accuse him of contact with a forbidden organization (which usually means Hezbollah or Hamas). It's possible they've cooked up such charges in this case.
But Abu Seesi may be a different case. As the chief engineer of Gaza's power plant he may know a good deal of technical information Israel would like to have about the plant, how it operates, how it can be shut down. In fact, given the success of Stuxnet in penetrating Iran's nuclear facilities, Israel would have a definite interest in being able to penetrate the Gaza plant with a remote program and shut it down during hostilities without having to destroy it as it did during Operation Cast Lead.
Or they may be concocting a story by which he's engaged in some terror plot which would exploit his skills as a civil engineer.
If these reports are true, then the Mossad is continuing its violation of the sovereignty of other nations and kidnapping foreign nationals on foreign soil. This is a massive violation not only of Ukrainian sovereignty, but of international law for which Israel and the Mossad should be held accountable. It also shows since the al-Mabouh disaster Mossad has learned nothing and changed nothing. It operates with impunity and flagrantly disregards the norms of civilized discourse. Once again showing why Israel has placed itself squarely outside the realm of western democratic nations.
Israeli intelligence services must account for Abu Seesi's whereabouts and provide information about the charges against him. He must be allowed to consult with an attorney. He must not be tortured or abused (though that no doubt has already happened). This man is a professional, a civil engineer, not a terrorist.
This article first appeared at Tikun Olam

[Carsten Wiethoff]

Here and here are some strong hints that Ukranian Security collaborated with the Israelis in the abduction. That seems to be a good reason it is so quiet over there...hutup:

[Albert Doyle]

Mossad is the rough state security police CIA wishes it could be.


Don't believe anything out of the US Government when they criticize their cowboy actions. US backs everything they do with prurient enthusiasm.

[Carsten Wiethoff]

From http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonb...srael.html

Abu Sisi, who is director of operations at the Gaza power generation plant, told the human rights group that he was travelling to Kiev on Feb. 19 to meet with his brother, who was coming from the Netherlands. Three persons, two in military uniforms, entered his cabin on the train and asked for his passport. Abu Sisi refused, but they threatened him and forcefully took his passport. They then handcuffed and hooded him and took him off the train as it stopped in Poltava.
He was then taken by car to Kiev where he was held in an apartment. Six people, who introduced themselves as Mossad agents, immediately began to question him. He was later put on a plane, which landed at an unknown place after about four to five hours. Approximately 30 minutes later, they took off again and the flight lasted for approximately one hour and upon landing Abu Sisi found himself in Israel.
Abu Sisi, who is married to a Ukrainian woman and has six children, was denied contact with a lawyer for 25 days during which he was heavily interrogated.

[Magda Hassan]

Shin Bet files indictment against rocket godfather'

By YAAKOV KATZ
LAST UPDATED: 04/04/2011 15:57

Abu Sisi not only developed missiles in Gaza but was allegedly responsible for upgrading older rockets and increasing their range.

Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters Calling him the "rocket godfather" of the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) filed an indictment on Monday against Dirar Abu Sisi, a Palestinian engineer from Gaza, detailing his rise to prominence as Hamas's leading missile developer.

Abu Sisi, a director of the Gaza Strip's sole power station, was reportedly abducted by Israel over a month ago as he was traveling on a train in Ukraine and brought to Israel for interrogation. On Monday, mystery continued to surround the details of his capture and how he was transferred to the Jewish state.


According to the indictment, Abu Sisi received his doctorate at the Kharkov Military Engineering Academy and studied under Prof. Konstantin Petrovich, an expert in Scud missile control systems.

During his studies, Abu Sisi acquired extensive knowledge in missile development, control systems, propulsion and rocket stabilization.

After returning to the Gaza Strip and parallel to his work as an engineer for the Gaza electric company, Abu Sisi was secretly recruited into Hamas by the military commander of the terrorist organization at the time, Salah Shehadeh, and began working as one of their leading engineers for short- and long-range missiles.

Abu Sisi not only developed missiles in Gaza but was also, according to the charge sheet, responsible for upgrading thousands of older rockets and increasing their range and penetration capabilities.

According to the indictment, which was filed on Monday in the Beersheba District Court, Abu Sisi was charged with membership in a terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit a crime, the production of illegal weaponry, assistance to an illegal organization, and a variety of other crimes.

During his interrogation, officials said, Abu Sisi provided valuable intelligence information on Hamas's military wing, its different branches and the decision-making process within the terror group.

In 2002, Abu Sisi met Sheikh Nizar Rayan, a spiritual leader of Hamas's military wing, who was later assassinated during Operation Cast Lead in 2009. Rayan introduced Abu Sisi to various senior Hamas operatives, including Shehadeh. Due to his education as an engineer, Abu Sisi was asked by Shehadeh to assist in developing weaponry for Hamas.

He later joined a committee that was responsible for the research and development of weaponry, and was tasked with electrical engineering, dealing mostly with developing boosters and fins that stabilized and enhanced the range of Hamas's arsenal of rockets.

In 2005, the committee asked Abu Sisi to begin working on increasing the range of rockets manufactured domestically in the Gaza Strip. Due to his involvement, Hamas was able to increase the range of the rockets from 6 km. to 9 km., and subsequently to 15 km.

In 2007, Abu Sisi assisted Hamas in increasing the rockets' range to 22 km. He was then asked to increase the range to between 37 km. and 45 km., and participated in several experiments during which rockets were tested and fired into the Mediterranean.

These attempts did not succeed.

One of the anti-tank missiles that Abu Sisi helped develop is the Yassin, which has the ability to penetrate between 16 cm. and 26 cm. of reinforced steal. He also worked to increase the penetration to 37 cm.

Abu Sisi also developed an anti-tank mortar shell called Abu Rassin, which has a range of 100 meters and can penetrate 87 cm. of steel. He later made efforts to increase penetration to 100 cm, and worked on another anti-tank missile called Al Batar, which has a 100-m. range.

With Abu Sisi's aid, Hamas translated Russian manuals of the Igla-S shoulder-to-air missile into Arabic.

After Operation Cast Lead in 2009, Hamas asked Abu Sisi to help establish a military academy in the Gaza Strip. In this position, Abu Sisi created a plan for the school that included three main subjects: military, administration and religion.

The plan was then submitted to various Hamas leaders during meetings in Abu Sisi's house in 2009. In 2010, according to the indictment, Abu Sisi met with Hamas operatives from Syria during a trip to Mecca.

Abu Sisi denies wrongdoing and has said he was not a member of the organization.

He is married to a Ukrainian, and his relatives say he went to arrange residency in Ukraine for himself and his family.
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=215100

[Magda Hassan]

Israel, Ukraine and the mysterious case of Dirar Abu Sisi

By Gabriel Gatehouse Crossing Continents, BBC Radio 4 Israel accuses Dirar Abu Sisi of hundreds of counts of attempted murder, and of being the brains behind a missile programme run by Hamas
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Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Sisi vanished from a train in Ukraine earlier this year. He turned up in an Israeli prison nine days later, but is he really the brains behind Hamas' missile programme, as Israel claims?
On the evening of 18 February, a Palestinian engineer boarded a train in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov.
Dirar Abu Sisi was the manager of Gaza's main electricity power plant. He hoped to obtain Ukrainian citizenship, and was travelling on the overnight sleeper to Kiev.
He spoke to a friend on the telephone just as the train was pulling out of the station. All was well, he said, he was settling into his bunk for the night.
But when the train arrived in Kiev the following morning, he was nowhere to be seen. Somewhere along the line, Dirar Abu Sisi had vanished.
'Agents, Secret Service' "It was strange," said Andrei Makarenko, a young Ukrainian who shared a compartment with Mr Abu Sisi on the train.
Dirar Abu Sisi boarded a train at Kharkov station in Ukraine but failed to arrive at his final destination
Shortly after leaving Kharkov, Mr Makarenko says, three men entered the compartment.
They wore plain clothes. One showed an ID badge claiming to be from the Ukrainian Security Service. They checked Mr Abu Sisi's documents and took him away.
"It was like in a film, like in a book: agents, secret service," Mr Makarenko says. It was the last he or anyone else saw or heard of Dirar Abu Sisi for more than a week.
Nine days later Mr Abu Sisi's Ukrainian wife, Veronika, received a phone call. It was Mr Abu Sisi. He was in prison, in Israel.
[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14529749#story_continues_2]Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

"Dirar Abu Sisi is not that important. It's a mystery. I think he was chosen because he was an easy target. It's as simple as that"

Yossi Melman Ha'aretz newspaper
It took several weeks for the Israeli authorities to issue an indictment.
When they did, it accused Dirar Abu Sisi of hundreds of counts of attempted murder, and of being the brains behind a missile programme run by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza.
The Israeli court has since released partial transcripts of Mr Abu Sisi's interrogation sessions, in which he apparently admits to helping Hamas increase the range and accuracy of their rockets, as well as helping the movement set up and run a military academy.
His lawyers, and his wife, say he has nothing to do with Hamas, and knows nothing about rocket technology.
They say Mr Abu Sisi's confessions were obtained under duress while in Israeli custody, and are meaningless.
The Israeli government has refused to comment on the case.
But according to the indictment Mr Abu Sisi acquired his skills as a rocket scientist while studying in Ukraine in the 1990s, in the city of Kharkov.
Mr Abu Sisi did indeed study in Kharkov during that period.
That is where he met his wife Veronika. But at the National Academy for the Municipal Economy, where he studied for his PhD, staff said the curriculum was exclusively concerned with civil engineering.
There were military educational facilities in Kharkov at that time, but the Ukrainian ministry of education says it can find no record of a Mr Abu Sisi having attended any of them.
Link to captured solider Indeed, in the Israeli transcripts of the interrogation, Mr Abu Sisi is quoted as saying he only visited the military academy on four occasions, for a couple of hours at a time: hardly enough for a rocket scientist.
Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad has not ruled out Dirar Abu Sisi being involved with the group
In Gaza, Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for Hamas, was cautious in his defence of the engineer.
"According to his family, he was not involved in any military actions," he said.
"He was just working in his field in electricity and normal things, but not with rockets or something like that."
But when pressed, he could not rule out the possibility that Mr Abu Sisi had been involved with Hamas' armed wing, without his family's knowledge.
Israel takes attacks on its territory extremely seriously. Hundreds of rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel in recent years, causing numerous civilian casualties.
So why did the Israeli authorities think it was worth the risk of conducting an international abduction?
Yossi Melman, security correspondent for the Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz, thinks they simply made a mistake.
Continue reading the main story

Find out more

Hear the full report on Crossing Continents on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 25 August at 11:00 BST and Monday 29 August at 20:30 BST

"Dirar Abu Sisi is not that important," he said. "It's a mystery. I think he was chosen because he was an easy target. It's as simple as that.
"Sometimes the bureaucracy is looking for the lost coin, not where it was lost but where there is a light."
But there is another possibility.
In 2006, Hamas captured a young Israeli soldier in a cross border raid. More than five years later, Corporal Gilad Shalit is still presumed to be held prisoner at a secret location inside Gaza.
Israel has an almost sacred covenant with its service personnel: it does not abandon its soldiers. The Israeli government is desperate to get him back.
The Israeli authorities have never publicly made any connection between the Abu Sisi case and the ongoing efforts to secure the release of Gilad Shalit. But Mr Abu Sisi's lawyers say that the initial focus of his interrogation did concern the whereabouts of the captured soldier.
Warning from Hamas Is Dirar Abu Sisi simply the unfortunate victim of mistaken identity? Did he really have no contact whatsoever with Hamas, as his wife and friends claim?
Dirar Abu Sisi is currently being held in Shikma prison in Asheklon, a short distance north of Gaza
That seems unlikely for an engineer in his senior position, given the fact that Hamas controls Gaza.
The transcripts of his interrogation point to the possibility that Mr Abu Sisi was getting more involved with Hamas than he wanted.
"I tried to cease my assistance to Hamas regarding improving missiles' range," he is quoted as saying.
According to the court transcripts, Mr Abu Sisi mentions one particular member of Hamas' armed wing on a number of occasions: a man by the name of Raed Sa'ad, who apparently tried to dissuade him from backing out of his work with Hamas and may have issued a veiled death threat.
"Raed Sa'ad's answer was that there are many fighters or many people who are killed in strange missions.
"When I asked him what he meant he said: 'Understand that any way you want to,' and added that a man who has children should be afraid for them."
A number of different sources have told the BBC - off the record - that Mr Abu Sisi was detained by Hamas shortly before he left Gaza for Ukraine.
These sources say he was told not to make the journey. Hamas has declined to comment on the matter.
The official Ukrainian response to Dirar Abu Sisi's disappearance has been one of ignorance.
Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU, has denied any role in, or prior knowledge, of his abduction whatsoever.
But Ukraine has made no official complaint against Israel through diplomatic channels. Security experts believe it is highly unlikely the Israelis could have abducted a man on Ukrainian soil without at least tacit permission.
It is not impossible that Dirar Abu Sisi was in fact a secret and senior Hamas operative.
However, the evidence uncovered in this investigation suggests that - whatever his dealings with Hamas may or may not have been - he was not nearly that important.
You can listen to Crossing Continents on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 25 August at 11:00 BST and Monday 29 August at 20:30 BST. You can also listen via the BBC iPlayer or the podcast.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14529749