The threat to detain the Israeli leader came as police in Dubai linked the apparent murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior member of the Hamas military wing, to the Jewish state for the first time.
Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai's police chief, claimed that the dead man was killed using methods known to be employed by Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency. He added that Mr Netanyahu would be held personally responsible if Mossad was identified as the culprit.
"Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will be the first to be wanted for justice as he would have been the one who signed the decision to kill al-Mabhouh in Dubai," Gen Tamim told The National, an English language newspaper in Dubai.
"We will issue an arrest warrant against him."
Mr Mabhouh was found dead in his Dubai hotel room on January 20. According to initial forensic reports, he was given an electric shock before being suffocated. Police are still investigating other factors that could have contributed to his death, including poisoning.
Israel has yet to comment on whether or not it was involved in the killing, although it did issue a statement claiming that Mr Mabhouh played "a central role in smuggling weapons from Iran to Gaza militants".
In recent years Israel has been linked to the assassination of several Hamas leaders, both inside the Gaza strip, which is controlled by the Islamist movement, and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Any arrest warrant issued against Mr Netanyahu is likely to deal a setback to unofficial efforts to improve relations between Dubai and Israel.
Comment: If the Israeli Prime Minister can order the assassination of a Palestinian and not be called a terrorist, then why can't Palestinians assassinate Israelis and not be called terrorists?
Reader Comments
How terribly embarrasing for them! It looks like its all starting to unravel.
Probably too soon to start implicating them in 9/11, as that implicates lots more high level US government officials.
Do I sense the vultures circling?
It's the Domino theory, once one goes they all......
it will go so far because Mossad and Indian intelligence are working together in Pakistan so this was from police chief who isn't very high in hierarchy, but on the other hand maybe India doesn't like doing behind her back and is changing course!
blatant capitalizing on the 9/11 attacks is criminal. The man has no conscience. It is also very suspicious that he immediately realised that it would be "good for Israel". Can we say 'fore-knowledge'?