Former Palestinian envoy Ashraf Dabbour detained in Lebanon over corruption claims

Ashraf Dabbour, the former Palestinian envoy to Lebanon, has been placed in provisional detention in Lebanon following a decision by the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation. This detention comes after Dabbour was previously arrested and released in April in connection with an international arrest warrant issued through Interpol, based on financial corruption charges brought by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Lebanese media reports indicate that the prosecution is preparing a report on Dabbour’s case. Lebanon’s Cabinet will use this report to decide whether to hand him over to the PA. Dabbour’s defense team is expected to present a series of documents intended to prove his innocence on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to information obtained by the Beirut-based news site Al Modon.

The PA is prosecuting Dabbour on charges including corruption, illicit enrichment, money laundering, and abuse of trust. He served as the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon for over a decade until he was replaced in 2025. Dabbour has publicly denied the charges, alleging on his Facebook that Yasser Abbas, the son of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, is using his influence over security services to settle personal scores by pursuing him with arrest warrants.

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exploiting his control over the security services and his influence within the authority to use them to settle his personal scores… by pursuing me with arrest warrants from one place to another