Mideast

By Jamil Hamad/Jerusalem

According to a senior Palestinian security official, it was Palestinian intelligence that hunted and trapped ABU NIDAL after two plots to assassinate YASSER ARAFAT were uncovered in the past year. The source says Palestinian intelligence tracked down the elusive Abu Nidal in Libya and, in an "exceptional operation," got him into Egypt. The official wouldn't say precisely how this was done. Asked if it was a kidnapping, he said, "More or less."

The source says officials of both the Palestinian Authority and Egypt are eager to deny putting a hand on Abu Nidal for fear of retaliation by his followers, who are well trained, armed and scattered around the gulf and North Africa. The source doubts the story that Abu Nidal is ill with leukemia and suspects the Egyptians cooked that up to cover themselves. He also notes that the Palestinian Authority informed the U.S. when Abu Nidal was apprehended.

--By Jamil Hamad/Jerusalem