By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Turkish authorities on Friday banned a senior Fatah official from entering the country citing security concerns.Gen. Tawfik Tirawi, member of the Fatah Central Committee and former head of the Palestinian Authority General Intelligence Force who had been invited to an event organized by the Palestinian Embassy in Turkey to mark the 11th anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat, was detained for five hours at Istanbul Airport before he was deported to Jordan.Tirawi, who also heads a Palestinian commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Arafat’s death, said the Turkish authorities considered him persona non-grata and refused to allow him to enter the country.“I don’t think this has to do with security-related issues,” Tirawi said. “The only reason I can think of is my position toward the Muslim Brotherhood and my criticism of the group on TV.”
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