The terrorist leader responsible for hijacking the Achille Lauro is seeking the No. 2 spot in the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to Avi Benayahu, writing in Al Hamishmar Thursday.
The aspirant is Mohammed Zaidan, also known as Abul Abbas, leader of the Palestine Liberation Front which seized the Italian cruise ship in Egyptian waters in October 1985, and murdered one of its passengers, an American Jew named Leon Klinghoffer who was confined to a wheelchair.
Zaidan would like to replace Khalil al-Wazir, who was assassinated at his villa in suburban Tunis on April 18 by a commando-style hit squad, widely believed to have been Israelis.
Wazir, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Jihad, which means Father of the Holy War, was the commander of Al Fatah, the PLO’s military branch.
Zaidan is thought to be close to PLO chief Yasir Arafat. But he is not the only candidate for Wazir’s job, Benayahu said. Several ranking Al Fatah men are being “tested” in the field, to see how well they perform terrorist attacks and other operations.
It is therefore not surprising, Benayahu wrote, hat the attempt by terrorists Wednesday to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon, near Kiryat Shmona, was the work of the Abul Abbas gang. The attempt was foiled.
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