h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You should probably update this now since Abbas has been aprehended and Italy is seeking his extradition:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2954039.stm

Well spotted. Yes, I heard that news myself today. But it's a little too soon to know what will happen with Abbas. It wouldn't surprise me if he gets off the hook somehow.

I guess the PLO/PNA are on the way to becoming a real government, since members of real governments usually do get away with war crimes and acts of piracy.

It'd probably be a good idea to mention at least that the US military captured him after they invaded Iraq, and Italy requested his extradition. Does anyone know if the Americans still have him?

Does it say in your article that the hijack of the Italian civilian ocean-liner the "Achille Lauro" (and maybe even the murder of Klinghoffer) was intentional and plannned by Abbas before hand, or that it was carried out by pannicking Palestinian guerrillas planning to raid Ashdod? I wasn't entirely sure after I read it?

Abu Abbasa has apparently died of natural causes in US custody, so he managed to escape spending decades in an Italian prison.

His Palestine Liberation Front guerrillas and family have accused the US occupation authorities in Iraq of murdering him, although that's probably unlikely since Italy really wanted him, and if Bush wanted him dead they could just put him on trial in America for murdering Klinghoffer.