The righteous outrage at Israel had clearly forgotten to take into account the obvious: given al-Mabhouh's record, as my colleague at the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, Claudia Rosett, noted in a recent Forbes column, where is the outrage about Dubai's cavalier behaviour towards al-Mabhouh? Its immigration authorities let a terrorist enter its territory, meet business contacts and probably conduct business and financial transactions through the Dubai banking system. Should there not be some accountability here? What is Interpol planning to do about this?

Why did the Dubai police confidently announce that two of the fugitives made their way to Iran on a boat? Surely, Iran's shores are no safe haven for Mossad agents. Why did accusations made by Hamas spokesmen that Jordan and Egypt might have been behind the killing not elicit a similar summons to the Foreign Office? Why was the fact that the arrests of two Palestinians linked to Mohammad Dahlan — the Palestinian Authority's former strongman in Gaza and surely a man with some scores to settle with Hamas — not given similar prominence? Al- Mabhouh had more than one enemy. His role in arms transfers from Iran to Gaza would have made him a target not just for Israel but for other regional players as well.

Even if Israel did it, shouldn't its selfrighteous critics appreciate, even applaud, the deed? After all, as Alan Dershowitz pointed out in a Jerusalem Post column, these are the same people who criticised Israel for using excessive, disproportionate force in Gaza. Surely they should commend Israel for having adopted a new tactic: killing the enemy with no collateral damage?

Al-Mabhouh had personally killed Israelis. He was a terrorist. He deserved to die. And his death is a serious setback to the operations he was running.

There should be little sorrow expressed about sending him to delight with heavenly virgins long before he had planned.