Former Palestinian security chief Moussa Arafat, cousin of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was assassinated at his home in the Gaza Strip after a half-hour shootout between a number of militants and Arafat's bodyguards. The force, estimated to be up to a hundred men, overpowered Arafat's numerous bodyguards, using assault rifles and grenades, before directly assaulting the house. They dragged Arafat into the street, while still in his pajamas, where he was shot. He was declared dead on arrival to hospital.
The Popular Resistance Committees, or PRC, claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as the kidnapping of Moussa Arafat's son Manhal during the fighting. Manhal Arafat is a senior security official who has been described as one of his father's closest aides. The PRC explained the killing of Arafat as punishment for corruption after normal Palestinian security forces would not take action, describing it as "executing the will of God".
While holding no official position, Arafat had been retained as a military advisor to current President of the PNAMahmoud Abbas, after being removed from his position as security chief. Palestinian officials have condemned the attack, describing it as an attack on the authority of the government.
There is no indication that this incident will affect the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, scheduled to be completed in the next few weeks.
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
The text of this article has been released into the public domain. In the event that this is not legally possible, this article may be used for any purpose, without any condition, unless such conditions are required by law. This applies worldwide. Copyright terms on images, however, may vary, so please check individual image pages prior to duplication.
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
The text of this article has been released into the public domain. In the event that this is not legally possible, this article may be used for any purpose, without any condition, unless such conditions are required by law. This applies worldwide. Copyright terms on images, however, may vary, so please check individual image pages prior to duplication.
