ERIHA
Bassam Abu Sharif, chief advisor to former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, shared his memoirs with AA in Eriha.
Sharif, who had been with Arafat until the day he died, now secluded himself in a house in Eriha and is writing his memoirs.
Regarding how Carlos the Jackal joined Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Sharif said, "one day a Venezuelan named Ilich Ramirez Sanchez entered my office in Beirut. It was 1971. Sanchez was briefed about us by Palestinian students in Mumbai University, and came to Lebanon to meet with us. He was a complete Marxist. I took him in the organization. I am telling you this for the first time; we sent Carlos to his first mission in Paris. He killed three French intelligence officials and an informer named Michael in a penthouse. This was his first act. Then we sent him to London. His target was an owner of an international trademark which was transferring money to Israel. Carlos was very brave, handsome and cold-blooded. He was good at using weapons. He kept his gun with him even while sleeping."
When asked how PLO was founded, Sharif said that when PLO was founded in 1964, Ahmad al-Shukeiri became the head of the organization, and nobody rejected his leadership.
"Shukeiri's mother was a Turk. He was well-educated and a high-class man. He was Saudi Arabia's ambassador in UN. He led the PLO until Arafat came into rule in 1967," said Sharif.
Noting that members of the organization were trained in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan on using weapons and they staged acts in Israel for long periods, Sharif said that he first met Arafat in 1968 in Jordan.
When asked who killed Arafat, Sharif said without hesitation that it was Israel and Sharon.
"In 2002, I wrote Arafat that Israel would kill you by poisoning. By this way, your death would not raise suspicions. Here I still have the document about it. Arafat copied the document and gave them to all his ministers. Ariel Sharon killed Arafat by poisoning him. The book of Gabriel Sharon, Ariel Sharon's son, confirms my remarks," said Sharif.
Regarding Mossad's attempt to assassinate him, Sharif said that he was mailed a book claimed to be written by Che Guevera, and when he opened the cover of the book, he saw a bomb mechanism in it.
"It was too late for everything. I opened my eyes at a hospital six months later. Mossad failed, but it left serious damage on me," he said.
He lost four fingers, and was left deaf in one ear and blind in one eye, when the bomb exploded in his hands.
Regarding Hamas and Fatah, Sharif said that Hamas and Fatah would unite despite their different structures.
Reporting by Taner Aydin
