Lebanon Detains Ashraf Dabbour At Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport On Corruption Charges

Lebanese authorities detained Ashraf Dabbour, described as the former Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon, shortly after he arrived in the country on corruption charges.

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Al Arabiya English

Naharnet reported that Dabbour was arrested upon arrival at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport late Tuesday, and that Lebanese authorities acted based on a Red Notice issued by Interpol late last year.

Naharnet

Naharnet said the two judicial and two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The reporting also tied the arrest to the Palestinian Authority’s earlier allegations, noting that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas relieved Dabbour of his post as Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon last year after the Palestinian Authority accused him of corruption.

Al Arabiya English similarly stated that Lebanese authorities detained Dabbour on corruption charges shortly after he arrived, and it repeated that he was arrested upon arrival at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport late Tuesday.

Al Arabiya English added that Dabbour was being questioned by a judge at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut.

In the same account, Al Arabiya English said Dabbour was reportedly involved in selling property in Lebanon that was owned by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which was based in the country until Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

The detention was framed by both outlets as the culmination of a process that began with the Palestinian Authority’s accusations and continued through Interpol channels.

Naharnet said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas relieved Dabbour of his post as Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon last year after the Palestinian Authority accused him of corruption.

وكالة صدى نيوز

It then described Lebanese authorities detaining Dabbour in Beirut based on a Red Notice issued by Interpol late last year.

Al Arabiya English echoed the same timeline, stating that Abbas relieved Dabbour last year after the Palestinian Authority accused him of corruption, and that Lebanese authorities detained him based on the Interpol Red Notice issued late last year.

Al Arabiya English also specified that the arrest occurred shortly after Dabbour arrived in the country, and it placed the timing at late Tuesday at Rafik Hariri International Airport.

Both reports included the detail that officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Naharnet further said Dabbour was being questioned by a judge at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut, placing the case within Lebanon’s judicial process.

The accounts also connected the alleged wrongdoing to property matters, with Al Arabiya English saying Dabbour was reportedly involved in selling property in Lebanon owned by the Palestinian Liberation Organization until Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

A separate account from وكالـة صدى نيوز presented a direct denial from the Palestine Liberation Organization regarding allegations attributed to the former ambassador.

“SadaNews - A Palestine Liberation Organization official denied the veracity of the allegations leveled by the former ambassador to Lebanon concerning the organization's assets”

وكالة صدى نيوز

The outlet said, "The former ambassador's allegations regarding the assets in Lebanon are unfounded."

It described the denial as coming from a Palestine Liberation Organization official who said the rumors spread by former ambassador Achraf Dabbour, who the outlet described as retired and sought for corruption related to the Palestine Liberation Organization's assets in Lebanon, are unfounded.

The statement asserted that the aim of spreading these lies is to disrupt ongoing investigations into numerous financial and real estate cases in which Dabbour is accused of acting during his tenure at the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Lebanon, from 2012 to 2025.

It further claimed that, as the authorized signatory of the embassy's financial accounts, Dabbour allegedly made real estate purchases and paying amounts exceeding their true value, as well as withdrawing sums from the embassy's accounts and keeping them in a personal safe.

The PLO official said all these cases are under investigation by Palestinian judicial authorities who summoned him to appear before them, and that after his refusal, an arrest warrant was issued against him through Interpol.

The same statement addressed the broader question of PLO assets abroad, saying that after the withdrawal of the Palestinian revolutionary forces from Lebanon and Syria, some assets came under the control of entities and individuals.

It also said the PLO official was tasked with forming official committees at the highest political and national levels recognized for their integrity to inventory these assets abroad, notably in Lebanon and Syria, verify their ownership, and regularize their legal status as assets of the Palestinian people.

The PLO-linked statement described the alleged misconduct in terms of Dabbour’s role and the period of his service, while also insisting that the allegations are being used to undermine investigations.

It said Dabbour is accused of acting during his tenure at the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Lebanon, from 2012 to 2025, as the authorized signatory of the embassy's financial accounts.

The Independent

The outlet also stated that the accused actions included "making real estate purchases and paying amounts exceeding their true value" and "withdrawing sums from the embassy's accounts and keeping them in a personal safe."

It added that Palestinian judicial authorities summoned him to appear before them and that after his refusal, an arrest warrant was issued against him through Interpol.

The statement then broadened the issue beyond the embassy accounts, saying that regarding the Palestine Liberation Organization's assets abroad, notably in Lebanon and Syria, after the withdrawal of the Palestinian revolutionary forces from these two countries, some assets came under the control of entities and individuals.

It said the official confirmed that he was tasked with forming official committees composed of the highest political and national levels recognized for their integrity to inventory these assets abroad, notably in Lebanon and Syria, verify their ownership, and regularize their legal status as assets of the Palestinian people.

The statement claimed that a significant portion of these assets has indeed been recovered and that their legal status has been corrected.

Finally, the outlet urged those who spread the lies and those who support them to surrender to Palestinian judicial authorities with any documents in their possession, so the matter can be verified and resolved.

Taken together, the reports present competing narratives about the same case: Lebanese authorities detained Ashraf Dabbour on corruption charges after an Interpol Red Notice, while a PLO official rejected the former ambassador’s allegations as unfounded and described a separate set of claims and investigations.

Naharnet said Dabbour was detained in Beirut based on a Red Notice issued by Interpol late last year and that he was being questioned by a judge at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut.

Ici Beyrouth

Al Arabiya English likewise said he was arrested upon arrival at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport late Tuesday and that he was being questioned by a judge at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut.

In contrast, وكالـة صدى نيوز asserted that "The former ambassador's allegations regarding the assets in Lebanon are unfounded" and said the rumors spread by Achraf Dabbour are unfounded, while also laying out a detailed account of alleged conduct during his embassy tenure from 2012 to 2025.

The PLO-linked statement also said that after his refusal to appear, "an arrest warrant was issued against him through Interpol," aligning with the Interpol-based mechanism described by Lebanese authorities.

It further said the PLO official’s committees were tasked to inventory assets abroad in Lebanon and Syria and to regularize their legal status as assets of the Palestinian people.

The statement added that a significant portion of these assets has been recovered and that legal status has been corrected, while work continues to recover all assets without exception.

In the Lebanese accounts, the immediate procedural step described was questioning by a judge at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut, with officials speaking on condition of anonymity.