On October 27, a military court issued the death sentence...

On October 27, a military court issued the death sentence in absentia against Abu al-Aynayn the senior leader of Arafat's Fatah faction who has lived in Lebanon for many years. He was charged with "forming of a gang in Al Boss Camp in the Southern Lebanese town of Tyre, with the objective of terrifying citizens, encroaching on properties and challenging the authority of the State." Abu al-Aynayn told his supporters in the Rashidiyah camp that Yasser Arafat would put the death sentence passed against him by the Lebanese Military Court to the Arab League and would also refer the issue to UN General-Secretary Kofi Annan. President Arafat's adviser Nabil Abu Rudaynah has condemned the death sentence issued against Abu al-Aynayn, describing it as aggressive and unacceptable.