MSF Employee Arrested in Olmert Assassination Plot
A Gazan staff member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) was arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Mazab Bashir, who has worked for MSF for five years, confessed on April 19, 2007, that he had been collecting intelligence on senior Israeli officials - including Olmert and a number of Knesset members. Bashir met with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in September 2006, and said that the assassination was meant to avenge the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Bashir also underwent arms training with the PFLP, and was picked to carry out the planned assassination. MSF issued a press release in response stating “the charges handed down . . . are in no way related to either MSF or to our activities . . . .MSF . . . has always scrupulously complied with the security rules and regulations of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) concerning movements of its staff.” The statement ignores the fact that the Palestinian exploited Israeli readiness to work with NGOs in providing humanitarian services.
