By Kim Ghattas BBC Beirut correspondent

The car bomb that went off on Monday morning in central Beirut, killing Palestinian leader Muhammad Jihad Jibril, is an unwelcome reminder for the Lebanese of the times when violence was a favourite way of settling scores.

During the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war car bombs were an easy way of getting rid of enemies.

The PFLP-GC does not recognise the 1993 Oslo agreements and has been at odds with Mr Arafat since then

There was always a long list of possible culprits because of all the different parties that were involved in the war, from the Lebanese to the Israelis, the Syrians or the Palestinians.

Although car bombs are considered to be a thing of the past, the long list of potential culprits or usual suspects, is still relevant today whenever car bombs make a come back, usually targeting people with enemies all around them.

Unsolved assassination

In January, a former Christian militia leader, Elie Hobeika was killed with three of his bodyguards.

Hobeika had first allied himself with the Israelis at the beginning of the civil war. He then shifted his allegiance to the Syrians, both times making enemies all over.

When he was killed, the Lebanese authorities quickly pointed an accusing finger at Israel - the favourite scapegoat in Lebanon. But the assassination remains unresolved until now.

Lebanese officials are blaming Israel

Now the finger of Lebanese officialdom is pointed at Israel.

Muhammad Jihad Jibril was the son of Ahmad Jibril leader of the radical Popular front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC).

The Syria-based group belongs to what is known here as the rejectionist camp, refusing any peace deals with Israel.

The PFLP-GC is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US state department and it has also been mentioned in connection to the Lockerbie bombing.

The group has not been involved in attacks inside Israel since the Palestinian uprising started in September 2000.

Hezbollah attacks

In May last year however, Ahmad Jibril said he was behind arms shipments to the Palestinian territories, which were intercepted by the Israelis.

But Muhammad Jihad Jibril, aged 40, was also the Lebanon military commander of the PFLP-GC.

Ahmad Jibril claimed responsibility for a seized arms shipment

During the recent Israeli operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, tension rose on Lebanon's border with Israel as the Lebanese guerrilla organisation Hezbollah stepped up its attacks against Israeli positions in a disputed area of land along the border.

At the same time, further down along the border cross-border attacks were also launched against Israel's northern Galilee by unknown elements.

The Lebanese authorities later arrested nine Palestinians from the PFLP-GC whom they claimed were responsible for the attacks.

Palestinian hard-liners

The attacks were a source of worry for Lebanon, eager to limit the fighting on its southern border to Hezbollah. It is unclear how much support Syria, a base for several hard-line Palestinian groups, gave to the PFLP-GC attacks.

Syria, Lebanon's political master, was warned by the US to reign in Hezbollah and keep the border quiet.

The assassination could also have been a settling of scores between Palestinian factions, most of which are represented in Lebanon, from Hamas to the Islamic Jihad and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah.

The PFLP-GC does not recognise the 1993 Oslo agreements and has been at odds with Mr Arafat since then.

Car bombs have been used before inside the Palestinian refugee camps by rival factions and disputes have sometimes spilled out of the camps.