Tuesday
Mar242009
UPDATE: The Killing of Kamal Medhat in Lebanon
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 9:53
Latest Post: The Assassination of Kamal Medhat in Lebanon
Related Post: Senior Fatah Official Assassinated in Lebanon
There is no new information on yesterday's assassination of Kamal Medhat (Kamal Naji), the Palestinian Liberation Organization's deputy representative in Lebanon, and three others in a bombing outside the Mieh Mieh camp near Sidon.
As we predicted, however, this is not stopping speculation and political point-scoring. For example, Hilal Khashaan, a professor at American University of Beirut, throws out the assertion, "All indicators seem to point in the direction of Iranian agents in Lebanon."
Much more substantial and more serious is the fear that Medhat's assassination may signal an escalation in intra-Palestinian fighting in Lebanon. Nabil Boumonsef of an-Nahar newspaper said yesterday, "I fear that this might be a sign of an expansion of Palestinian-Palestinian conflicts in Lebanon."
Sources are talking of Mehdat's attempt to mediate disputes within Fatah, a claim reinforced by Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan's praise of Mehdat for "a very great role" in easing tensions. (It should also be noted that Hamdan put out his own allegation that Israel was behind the assassination.)
Related Post: Senior Fatah Official Assassinated in Lebanon
There is no new information on yesterday's assassination of Kamal Medhat (Kamal Naji), the Palestinian Liberation Organization's deputy representative in Lebanon, and three others in a bombing outside the Mieh Mieh camp near Sidon.As we predicted, however, this is not stopping speculation and political point-scoring. For example, Hilal Khashaan, a professor at American University of Beirut, throws out the assertion, "All indicators seem to point in the direction of Iranian agents in Lebanon."
Much more substantial and more serious is the fear that Medhat's assassination may signal an escalation in intra-Palestinian fighting in Lebanon. Nabil Boumonsef of an-Nahar newspaper said yesterday, "I fear that this might be a sign of an expansion of Palestinian-Palestinian conflicts in Lebanon."
Sources are talking of Mehdat's attempt to mediate disputes within Fatah, a claim reinforced by Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan's praise of Mehdat for "a very great role" in easing tensions. (It should also be noted that Hamdan put out his own allegation that Israel was behind the assassination.)