Posted on 07/19/2002 4:59:52 PM PDT by knighthawk
OTTAWA - A Lebanese-born Canadian man is being held by Israeli authorities on suspicion of plotting a large-scale terrorist attack.
The man, identified by Israel as Abu Ahmed, was arrested on June 25 in the West Bank city of Hebron and charged with scouting locations for an attack similar to a plot thwarted in May that had targeted a gasoline depot in suburban Tel Aviv.
Canadian officials said they have not yet been granted access to the man, whom they identify as Fayzi Uayoub Abu Abbas. They said they know little about him except that he is 35 years old and was born in Lebanon.
"We don't know where he lives or if he has family here. We have requested consular access to the detainee and we are expecting a reply," a Canadian official said.
Israeli officials said they are interrogating the Canadian man, but gave no indication when Canadian diplomatic officials would be permitted to see him.
The Vienna Convention requires signatory states to allow foreign detainees to have access to local consular officials.
Officials at the Israeli embassy in Ottawa and the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations said they know nothing of the arrest.
Israeli authorities said the man is a member of Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shi'ite Muslim organization that has not played a prominent role in the latest round of violence between Palestinians and Israel that has claimed more than 2,000 lives since it began 22 months ago.
Israeli officials said the arrest of a Hezbollah operative indicates an escalation of the conflict. They believe a large terrorist operation is being planned inside Israel.
The Israelis claim the man was looking for locations suitable for a terrorist operation similar to the earlier plot to bomb a gas depot and potentially destroy an entire neighbourhood in Tel Aviv.
The majority of suicide bombings in Israel in the past year have been claimed by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, but Hezbollah has trained members of those organizations and has declared that it is ready to open a second front against Israel.
Hezbollah has called for the destruction of the Israeli state, claiming that all of the country is occupied Muslim land.
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, warned Hezbollah he was prepared to "take all action" against it if the attacks continued.
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