Who Tried to Kill Palestinian Ambassador Abass Zaki and Why?

[Jefferson23]

By FRANKLIN LAMB

Mieh Mieh Palestinian Camp, Sidon.

Yesterday afternoon, Kamal Medhat, 58, known in Lebanon’s Palestinian Camps affectionately as ‘Kamal Naji’, a senior member of the Palestinian Fatah movement was killed exiting Mieh Meih Camp by a 25-30 kilogram bomb. The bomb was hidden in a small roadside shed between two checkpoints, one manned by the Lebanese army and the other at the Kifah el Musallah Camp security check point. According to Fateh intelligence sources, a man on a tall building near the Camp entrance watched Medhat's car approach and detonated it as he passed at almost exactly 2 pm.

The bombing appears to have been an assassination hit aimed at the Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Abass Zaki. Also killed were Akram Daher, Director of the PLO's youth organization in Lebanon, and Medhat’s bodyguards, Khaled Daher and Mohammed Shehadeh. Three Palestinians in a second car were seriously injured and are being treated in hospital.

Fateh sources claim the real target was Abass Zaki, the PLO Diplomatic Representative to Lebanon. Zaki had left Mieh Mieh, a camp of about 5,000 refugees, about 7 minutes earlier in a nearly identical window-darkened black car to that of his deputy, Kamal Medhat. Medhat has paused in exiting the Camp to further express his condolences at a funeral held for his friend and Chairman of the Mieh Mieh Camp Popular Committee, Raef Naufal who was killed while trying to calm down a two-family feud between the Faraj and Kaouch families two days earlier.

The much respected Medhat, who joined Fatah from his village near Gaza when he was sixteen years old, was a loyalist to, and confidant of Yasser Arafat and Abu Jihad. He rose within the PLO’s ranks and earned a PhD in International relations and military science in the USSR. Recently Medhat played a key role in tamping down violence and tension among various groups in Ein el Helwe and in fostering dialogue among Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian community. Among his PLO portfolios was former Head of Intelligence in Lebanon. PLO Embassy staff noted that Medhat had recently expressed to colleagues his suspicions that he was being targeted for assassination and that he advised his superiors in Ramallah of his concerns.

remainder here: http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb03242009.html

[Idealism]

1. I was pondering who could have perpetrated this as well

It is definitely between 3 suspects in my mind: Syria, Israel, and the US.

Syria and Israel benefit more so than the US if the upcoming Lebanese elections are favorable to the right-wing government. It is easier to sell the need for military/covert action against Lebanon if their government is right-wing.

The US has done operations like this in the past mainly under Republican Presidents (although Dems engaged in this too), but I don't see the need for CIA involvement here- not being okayed by Leon Panetta anyways... possibly rogue elements inside the far east division or holdovers from the Bush regime. The US has enough problems on its plate to worry about elections in Lebanon at this point, I believe. If we did have a need, we may have contacted either Egyptian intelligence of Israeli Mossad to carry this out by proxy, but I don't think the US is behind this (officially, but like I said it may be rogue elements).

[Howardx]

2. i heard

it might be iran trying to kibosh a fatah/hamas reconciliation.

[Idealism]

3. It is possible and that would mean Iran is playing both sides

They have always been financially and militarily supportive of certain terrorist groups. That being said, it doesn't fit Iran's MO: they are not an aggressive people. Iran has never fought a war of aggression, never invaded a foreign state. Even in the depths of the Iran-Iraq war, Iran never used chemical weapons (even though the Iraqi's murdered over 100,000 people using them) even with them being pushed almost to the brink.

[Howardx]

4. well you hear things

and you never really know who put it out there or why.

[Sezu]

11. Well look who Iran IS blaming.

"the dirty hands of criminal Zionists targeted leaders of Palestinian groups"


http://www5.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=408012&IdLanguage=3


Probably a mistranslation tho eh ? LOL

[Jefferson23]

5. A strong possibility it is Syria, as Syria has never stopped trying to split

and control the PLO for their own benefit. I agree with you about the US involvement in this situation being a slim possibility, but who knows for sure at this point.

[Ken Burch]

6. Point of clarification as to Lebanese politics:

Which factions can we consider to be "right-wing" and which would be "left-wing", by our standards, as far as the Lebanese political spectrum goes?

I don't think you can do a straight-up "Christian=Right Wing/Muslim=Left Wing" break down. And it's hard to see which side, between those who advocate the existing Lebanese constitutional arrangements (the ones who give Christians an unfair advantage in the Lebanese political system)and those who want Lebanon to essentially be a protectorate or colony of Syria, are "left" vs "right".

The Druze party has the word "socialist" in its name, but I'm not sure how much that actually means.

So please, any clarification you can add on that would be helpful.

[Idealism]

7. Lebanon has probably one of the weirdest election breakdown I have ever seen.

The Muslims, Christians, and Greek Orthodox (among others) signed a national pact in the 1940s in order to stabilize the region and create modern-day Lebanon. Because of this national pact, the President of Lebanon must always be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister must always be Sunni, and the Speaker of the Assembly of Representatives must always be Shi'a.

http://www.country-studies.com/lebanon/the-national-pact.html

The Tarif Agreement in 1989 redrew power, with Christians having to split parliament 50-50 with Muslim representatives. Prior to that, Christians enjoyed an unfair advantage considering shortly after the founding of Lebanon, the Muslim population outnumbered Christians and that the Muslims were being under-represented.

The Free Patriotic Movement is a decent group to throw yourself behind as they are centrists and secular, if you are looking for stability in the parliament. They have pledged support for Hezbollah in a public statement once Hezbollah disarmed. They are reformists which are sorely needed in the area.

The distinction between left and right political parties in Lebanon is very difficult. Hezbollah is militant and right-wing in matters of war, but their economic policies are socialist. They win popular support through their bankrolling of social services.

The SSNP (Syrian Social Nationalist Party) were founded on the principle that all of Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and parts of Turkey need to create a super-state called Greater Syria. Needless to say, they are not above using violence to achieve this aim. They are an odd combination of secular and nationalist.

The Progressive Socialist Party runs on the Social Democrat platform, with emphasis on national unity, but in the past they have resorted to violence and recently provoked Hezbollah into armed confrontation with them. I think they have gotten away from their progressive roots.

[Ken Burch]

8. self-delete

item that inspired post has now been corrected.

[Idealism]

9. Thanks for catching that n/t

[Ken Burch]

10. No problem.

Didn't THINK I'd seen young Dr. Assad in church anytime recently.