Ha'aretz January 11, 2002 Fearing extradition to U.S., Abu Abbas leaves Egypt By Daniel Sobelman, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Reuters
Palestine Liberation Front leader Mohammed Abbas, also known as Abu Abbas, cut short his visit to Egypt on Thursday and returned to Iraq, due to U.S. attempts to extradite him. Abu Abbas arrived in Cairo last week following an invitation by Egyptian authorities, and took part in talks held between Egyptian intelligence leaders and Palestinian organizations, who were trying to formulate a united Palestinian stance on terror attacks against Israelis. Following reports on the whereabouts of Abu Abbas, and after he granted a newspaper interview, the U.S. began searching for him. Abu Abbas is wanted by the U.S. due to his responsibility for the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985, and the murder of one of the ship's passengers, Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled elderly Jewish American. The U.S. had told the Egyptian authorities it might want to want to pursue a court case against Abu Abbas if it turned out that he was in Egypt, diplomatic sources told Reuters. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that, Egypt has told the U.S. that Palestinian guerrilla leader Abu Abbas is not in the country, contrary to some media reports. According to Boucher, "This is a dangerous man. I don't know the exact legal status, but certainly he's not a person that we believe should be allowed safe harbor or easy passage." Abbas has spent most of the last 17 years in Iraq, beyond the reach of U.S. and Italian justice. Italian courts have sentenced him to five life terms and he is wanted in the U.S. in connection with the Italian cruise ship hijacking. Abbas has also visited the Gaza Strip and West Bank in recent years, traveling openly with the knowledge of the Israeli authorities. The Palestine Liberation Front halted almost all of its activities in the 1990's, but renewed them with the outbreak of the intifada at the end of 2000, though it has remained rather marginal in the Palestinian arena. The group's principle role consists of transferring money and weapons from Iraq, where its leaders are situated, to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
