Free Republic

The former leader of Fatah in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, has been living in exile in the United Arab Emirates for the past 10 years, where he has become a successful businessman. Born in the Palestinian coastal enclave, Dahlan is a powerful financial force in Gaza and an influential figure in the wider region – if Hamas fell, could he return to power?

“The Arab world now says that relations with Israel is more important than the Palestinian issue, which cannot be solved by Abu Mazen, for the foreseeable future.” The constellations of moderate Sunni Arab states which are on track to normalize relations with Israel view Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as irrelevant, a former top Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) official has told The Jerusalem Post. Former head of the counter-terrorism division for Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria Arik “Harris” Barbing told the Post on Sunday that, “the Palestinian issue is not a focus of the Arab states.” Harris said that, “Abu...

Former senior PLO official Mohammed Dahlan is suing Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for malicious persecution. Dahlan, a personal nemesis of the chairman, was removed from all his positions in the organization two years ago. Now he claims that Abbas is after him for publicly exposing the corruption of the chairman and of his offspring. Dahlan is pushing an assortment of lawsuits in various European courts, according to Kol Israel, revolving around his charge that some $700 million are missing from the PA treasury. Dahlan, who used to be head of the PLO Gaza Preventive Security Force, and participated in...

Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan has offered to buy illegal weapons carried by members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Palestinian officials said over the weekend, according to press reports. The buyback, which is to start in the coming days, has been funded by money from the United States, Britain and other European countries, the officials said. A senior activist at Al-Aqsa Brigades said Dahlan is offering $6,000 for each rifle. Dahlan also offered a signup bonus of at least $6,000 to Al-Aqsa members who join the security forces, Palestinian sources said. Meanwhile, following Hamas' decision to end cease-fire talks with...

May. 20, 2003 US supports Palestinian premier despite terror wave By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Washington A rash of deadly terror attacks on Israel has not shaken the Bush administration's confidence in Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas as a leader who will strive to get the violence under control. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday that he had "seen nothing to put in doubt his commitment," although he urged Abbas to take immediate and decisive action to eradicate the terrorism infrastructure. "We recognize that this is a very difficult task," Boucher said. And yet, he said, "it's imperative that the...