Poland backs German request to extradite suspect in Dubai killing

           Polish prosecutors will ask a Warsaw court to heed Germany's request to extradite an Israeli man wanted there in connection with the Dubai assassination of a top Hamas official, a prosecutor spokesman said Monday. The spokesman said prosecutors were not taking politics into consideration, but were acting in accordance with procedures, according to the Polish Press Agency. An Israeli citizen using the name Uri Brodksy was arrested in Poland over the weekend on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining a German passport believed to have been used by a member of the hit squad that killed Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room in January. A spokesman for the Polish court said earlier Monday that justices were to rule within a month whether to extradite the suspected Mossad agent in connection with the assassination. Dubai has accused Israel of being behind the killing and provided the names of more than two dozen alleged members of a team it says tracked and killed the Palestinian, using fraudulent British, Irish, French, German and Australian passports. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any role in the assassination, prompting international indignation. "The man sought by Germany was detained a week ago. He will be held for up to 40 days and during this time the court will have to rule whether to extradite him," said Wojciech Malek, a spokesman for the Warsaw district court. A spokesman in the Polish foreign ministry said there had been no formal request from Israel that its citizen be allowed to return home. A spokesman for the German justice ministry declined to comment on the case, but said EU rules mandated that extraditions take place within 40 days of an arrest. Mabhouh, born in the Gaza Strip, had lived in Syria since 1989 and Israeli and Palestinian sources have said he played a key role in smuggling Iranian-funded arms to militants in Gaza. Australia and Britain have both ordered the expulsion of some Israeli diplomats over the use of fake passports in the assassination. (21,34)