From Reuters: Achille Lauro Hijack Organizer Held by U.S. in Iraq

KEY QUOTE:

"Abbas, in his mid-50s, has spent much of the last 17 years in Iraq. He has traveled in the Middle East and stayed for some time in Gaza with the permission of the Israelis."

"Although he was the target of a manhunt after the Achille Lauro incident, Washington dropped a warrant for his arrest several years ago."

"In a 1998 interview with Reuters, he called the ship hijack a "mistake" and said the PLF mission had been to use the ship as transportation to Israel for an attack on a naval base."

"The Israeli Supreme Court declared Abbas immune from prosecution in Israel over the Achille Lauro in 1999 after he was allowed to return to Gaza by an Israeli Security Committee which had concluded that he had renounced violence."

"Late last year, in an interview in Baghdad with the New York Times, Abbas distanced himself from Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and condemned the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington."