Lebanon detains former Palestinian envoy at Beirut Airport

Lebanese authorities detained the former Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon on corruption charges shortly after he arrived in the country, officials said Wednesday.

The officials’ said Ashraf Dabbour was arrested upon arrival at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport late Tuesday. The two judicial and two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas relieved Dabbour of his post as Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon last year after the Palestinian Authority accused him of corruption.

The Lebanese officials said authorities detained Dabbour in Beirut based on a Red Notice issued by the Interpol late last year.

Dabbour was reportedly involved in selling property in Lebanon that was owned by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation that was based in the country until Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon.