Dubai killing spoof parodied for advertisement

Surveillance footage of the alleged murderers of a Hamas commander has been used by an Israeli supermarket chain to promote its "killer" prices in a television advertisement.

Police in Dubai say that they have recently released footage that showed the killers of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh as they trailed him in his hotel in January. The secret service in Israel is widely suspected to have planned the killing with Dubai's police chief stating that he was "99 percent" sure that the suspects following the Hamas official were from the spy agency. The government however said that there is not enough evidence at present to prove it was the secret service's agents who were involved, and are maintaining their official policy of “ambiguity". In the advertisement for Mahsanei Kimat Hinam shops a number of elaborately disguised customers creep along the supermarket's aisles before an actress with a wide-brimmed hat says that she "cannot admit to anything". The campaign itself was inspired by the original footage of the assassins, said Sefi Shaked, the advertising executive. The advertisement is filmed in a different way to usual adverts by using fake grainy surveillance footage: "We were fascinated by the technique of using surveillance cameras instead of high-production cameras, and the latest events in Dubai have given us a great opportunity," he said. He also stated, "It's a parody, a take-off of what happened in Dubai. All the Israeli television comedy shows have done it, so why shouldn't we?"