Relatives outraged over spoof on Hamas chief's killing

Relatives of a Hamas leader allegedly slain by a Mossad hit squad are looking to block the release of an Israeli-French spoof on the raid -- not because it portrays him as a "terrorist" but because it shows him drinking in a hotel bar. The film, which parodies the 2010 killing of Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh in his Dubai hotel room in January 2010, stars Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli, French actor Tomer Sisley and Israel's Shlomo Bar-Abba, star of the Oscar-nominated "Footnote." "The film undermines the image of our brother, showing him drinking alcohol and meeting in a bar with an Israeli model who seduces him and sets the trap for his assassination," Fayaq al-Mabhuh told AFP in Gaza. He said his family was planning to sue the producers in the Israeli courts on grounds the film "soils the image of the martyr Mahmud al-Mabhuh." "We are a conservative, religious family and we respect the reputation of the dead, especially since our brother is an honourable symbol of resistance," he added. The film's working title is "Kidon" or "Javelin" -- the codename given to the fictional Israeli operation, Israel's Haaretz newspaper said. Filming is currently under way in the Red Sea resort of Eilat with the picture due for release next year. Dubai police attributed the killing to Israel's Mossad spy agency and said it involved 27 people who used false passports from Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Australia. Israel has never confirmed its involvement in the assassination, but it came under fire from the countries whose passports were allegedly used in the operation.