Sources revealed that the official of the intelligence service at the Palestinian embassy in the Belgian capital, Brussels, beat the Palestinian ambassador, Abdel Rahim Al-Farra, which led to him sustaining various bruises.
Palestinian sources said that the intelligence officer at the embassy, Mahmoud Omar, assaulted Ambassador Al-Farra last Wednesday, during a farewell party for Ambassador Al-Farra, who will end his work at the embassy soon, as he severely beat the ambassador in front of the audience.
The sources indicated that what happened reflects what he described as a conflict of currents within the embassy, which is considered a central embassy in the capital of the European Union.
The incident sparked a widespread wave of anger among Palestinian activists and sharp criticism of the Palestinian Authority and its embassies, especially since the incident came in light of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the occurrence of the incident, and said – in a statement – that the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Muhammad Mustafa, decided to form an investigation committee into the incident.
The Foreign Ministry stated that the committee will go to Brussels immediately to review the merits of the matter, determine the circumstances of what happened, and submit its recommendations to the competent authorities to take legal action to ensure that it does not happen again, as she put it.