NCJ Number
193250
Journal
Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor Dated: February 2002 Pages: 6-12
Editor(s)
Afzal Khan
Date Published
February 2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article examines the assassination of a former warlord in Lebanon, the search for his killer, and implications for the political situation in the area.
Abstract
The assassination of Elie Hobeika, a former warlord from Lebanon's civil war, has threatened to disrupt that country's fragile peace by opening old wounds and incriminating Lebanese leaders. The article argues that Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, stood to gain the most from Hobeika's death. According to this theory, Hobeika was slain to prevent him testifying in a Belgian court which may indict Sharon for crimes against humanity, namely the 1982 massacre of hundreds of unarmed Palestinians and poor Lebanese Muslims in Beirut's Sabra and Chatila refugee camps. The lawsuit against Sharon in Belgium could turn an unwanted spotlight on prominent figures in Lebanon who, like Hobeika, have never been made to account for atrocities committed during the civil war. Sentiment in Beirut is such that no Lebanese figure would risk killing Hobeika. So far, circumstantial evidence points toward Israel, given that country's record of destabilizing Lebanon.