Assassination in Lebanon

There is still speculation about the assassination of PLO's Kamal Midhat in Lebanon. I spoke to a well-placed PLO source. The widow of Midhat is privately accusing Fath rivals of Mihdat (specifically, Sultan Abu Al`Aynayn and Khalid `Arif). Only last Saturday, Mihdat told a PLO source that "`Abbas Zaki sold me out." There is a lot of jockeying for power within the Fath in Lebanon in preparation for the upcoming Fath conference. Abbas Zaki needs the votes and he needs the support of Sultan Abu Al-`Aynayn: who through the years of generosity from `Arafat spread the goodies around. Mihdat, like Zaki, does not have the popular base that Abu Al-`Aynayn has. In the funeral, a group of 30 young men started to suddenly chant the names of Muhammad Dahlan. There are rumors that Dahlan snuck into Lebanon just hours before the assassination but I could not confirm that. The Dahlan security gang is very active in Lebanon, and their functionaries can be seen in the cafes of Beirut.