Malaysian Police Chief announces the arrest of an Israeli in possession of weapons and ammunition (Malaysian Press)

Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the Malaysian police thwarted an operation by the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad) on its territory, but did not disclose all its details.

Police Chief Razar al-Din Hussein said - in a press conference - that on March 27, a person with Israeli citizenship was arrested in possession of 6 pieces of different weapons and more than 200 bullets.

He added that the suspect is 36 years old, and that he entered the country on the 12th of this month using a French passport.

Hussein stated that after the examination, it was found that the detainee entered Malaysia “with a French passport, and after further investigations, the suspect then handed over an Israeli passport.”

According to the police chief, the detained Israeli claimed that he “entered the country to pursue and kill an Israeli citizen due to a family dispute.”

He explained that Malaysian security does not believe the words of the Israeli detainee, “and we do not rule out the possibility that he has another agenda,” adding that the police investigations focused on the possibility that the suspect was a Mossad agent.

The Malaysian authorities had previously managed to thwart an attempt to kidnap two Palestinian youth residing in the country by the Mossad in December 2022.

The police chief revealed that the accused claimed that he obtained the pistols in his possession from Malaysia using cryptocurrency, noting that "three of the weapons were loaded when they were found."

The police chief said that the arrest of the Israeli put them on high alert, explaining that "in light of the situation in Palestine and Israel, we have to be careful with regard to security."

He revealed that security measures had been strengthened around the king, the prime minister, and important figures, and that the authorities believed that the suspect had provided misleading information about the real target.

According to Al Jazeera's correspondent, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had previously said that he had been subjected to personal threats because of his position on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and his refusal to denounce the Al-Aqsa Flood operation and Malaysia's continued relationship with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The Malaysian authorities have previously dismantled a Mossad cell (social networking sites)

Previous attempts

Last November, the Turkish authorities announced that they had rescued a Palestinian programmer from kidnapping by Mossad agents on Malaysian soil.

According to the Turkish press, as soon as the Turkish intelligence service learned of the kidnapping incident, it sent the location of the Palestinian young man to their counterparts in Malaysia, stressing that the matter was very urgent.

Indeed, “hours later, Malaysian special operations teams carried out a surprise attack and the Palestinian youth was rescued alive.”

Following this operation, it was able to dismantle a Mossad spy network consisting of at least 11 Malaysians, with the aim of tracking down Palestinian activists in October 2022.

It is noteworthy that in 2018, two unknown gunmen carried out an operation - on behalf of the Mossad in Malaysia - to assassinate the Palestinian engineer Fadi Al-Batsh, who had a doctorate in electronic engineering.

In early 2022, the Interior and National Security, which is run by the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, revealed the arrest of those involved in the crime of assassinating Al-Batsh.

Source: Al Jazeera