Medhat”s Assassination … Warning to Lebanese Leaders
The assassination of top PLO official Kamal Medhat was a "warning" to Lebanese leaders, a government source told the daily An Nahar.
The source said Medhat”s murder has "raised a number of immediate questions about whether it was a message from abroad, the work of a Palestinian faction or a new attempt to disrupt peace in Lebanon."
An Nahar said Medhat was known for being one of the key figures who "strove to calm tensions and reconcile Palestinian factions."
As Safir newspaper, however, said Medhat”s assassination could be a "settling of scores."
"Although all Palestinian factions were quick to denounce the crime and blame Israel and its agents, security officials believe that Medhat was killed in a settling of scores," As Safir wrote.
Medhat, the deputy of Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki, was killed in a roadside bombing near the Miyeh Miyeh refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Monday. Three other people, including two of his bodyguards, were also killed in the midday blast.
Medhat was also a former aide to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a former intelligence chief for the mainstream Fatah movement in Lebanon.
As-Safir said Medhat was in charge of reconciling rival Palestinian groups in Lebanon, mainly in Ain el-Hilweh, the largest of 12 refugee camps and scene of frequent violence between Fatah and Hamas.