Ashraf Dabbour arrested in Lebanon over graft case

Lebanese authorities arrested Ashraf Dabbour, the former Palestinian ambassador to Beirut, on Monday ahead of possible handover to the Palestinian Authority over corruption charges, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP.

The official said Lebanon's public prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Dabbour after questioning him. The official said the judiciary transferred the file to the Lebanese government to inform the Palestinian Authority that Dabbour is detained in Lebanon and to request his judicial file in preparation for handing him over.

Dabbour served as Palestinian ambassador to Beirut from 2012 to 2025. He was previously arrested at Lebanon's airport in April at the Palestinian Authority's request over accusations of corruption and embezzlement of funds during his tenure, then placed under a travel ban.

Dabbour denied the accusations in a video posted on Facebook in May, saying they were intended to damage his reputation. In an April Facebook post, he accused Yasser Abbas, son of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, of using influence within the Palestinian Authority to pursue him with arrest warrants.