The death of an Israeli guard who was shot in the head during a farewell ceremony for President Sarkozy of France continued to provoke debate yesterday as the family disputed claims that he committed suicide. Smells incredibly fishy. Debka.com has nothing, and they're usually johnny-on-the-spot with this stuff.
Raed GhananÂ’s death created a security scare at the airport where Mr Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, were saying their farewells to the Israeli Prime Minister and President. Officials at the French Embassy said they were sorry that the incident had overshadowed an otherwise productive visit by Mr Sarkozy.
The timing is quite suspicious, too, with all of Olmert's political problems.
Mr Ghanan was guarding the outer perimeter of the area, positioned on a roof about 200 metres from the VIP delegation. Police said that an initial investigation revealed that he shot himself, and then fell off the roof.
The coroner can find out pretty easily if it was suicide or not. The entry and exit wounds, as well as the angle of entry will tell the true story.
A band was playing when the shot was fired, preventing the French and Israeli leaders from hearing the discharge. Bodyguards ushered Mr Sarkozy up the stairs to his plane and Ehud Olmert to a bullet-proof vehicle.
Police said that Mr Ghanan, 32, was from the northern Israeli town of Beit Dajan and was a member of the Druze community, a minority group whose religion includes an eclectic mix of beliefs rooted initially in Islam.
Naif Ghanan, Raed’s brother, said that police who informed the family of the death told them that the circumstances of the incident were still being investigated. 'It is unthinkable that my brother took his own life. We believe this was an accident — or even an incident in which my brother was accidentally shot by one of the security officials in the area,' he said.
Maybe he wanted a closer look, and looked through the telescopic sight on his rifle? Countersniper sees him, and blammo. Or, he was turned by the Iranians or other actors, and actually tried to take a shot. Suicide is pretty unlikely for a settled man with a house.
The family said that it had hired a lawyer to ensure there was a 'complete and detailed' investigation and to gain access to security video footage from the airport.
Good luck with that.
