Speechless in Gaza 2
Could the death of Moussa Arafat have been aggravated by the incompetence or complicity of Palestinian Authority officials? Some details of the assassination have emerged from the Jerusalem Post.
- Eyewitnesses reported that some of the gunmen who participated in the raid on Arafat's two-story villa in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood used armored vehicles belonging to one of the security organizations.
- the assailants stormed the house, shot Arafat in the legs and dragged him to the street, where they shot him at least 23 times in the head
- A West Bank Palestinian Military Intelligence officer, Maher Fares, told a press conference that he wondered why the security forces didn't react quickly to the attack on Arafat's home, which is located only a few meters away from the headquarters of the Preventative Security Force.
Maybe.
posted by wretchardthecat at 9/07/2005 08:44:00 PM
4 Comments:
Palestinian leaders condemn slaying:
The brazen nature of Arafat's killing turned it into an awkward test of Abbas ability to confront the armed Palestinian groups struggling for political control of Gaza. Although Arafat's notorious reputation made his death unlikely to cause conflict among the factions, Palestinian security services could face resistance in moving to capture his killers.
Abbas condemned the assassination through Information Minister Nabil Shaath, who called it a "heinous crime."
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784926924&path=!nationworld!article&s=1037645509161
ABBAS CANCELS U.N. VISIT:
"He decided not to go to New York because of the [Israeli] handover of the [Gaza] settlements and the security situation," negotiator Saeb Erekat said yesterday.
In a brazen challenge to Abbas, a shadowy militant group claimed responsibility for killing Moussa Arafat, a powerful former security chief.
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/27807.htm
Of course it wasn't Hamas. Their executions never involve more than 19 shots to the head.
Debka believes Moussa Arafat was killed by PA minister Mohammed Dahlan and Rashid Abu Shebak using the Salahedin Brigades as contract killers. Debka is unclear about the motive except to say it was an internal power struggle (dune runner also points to Rashid Abu Shabak).
[Debka]:
The assassination of Moussa Arafat was obviously well-planned and carefully staged. According to DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources, the crime bears the hallmark of Palestinian minister for civilian affairs Mohammed Dahlan and his sidekick, Gaza preventive security chief Rashid Abu Shebak, two would-be Gaza strongmen... Suspicion is strong that they contracted the Popular Committees' Salahedin Brigades for the slaying. Scores of armed men dragged the former Palestinian... head of national security forces in the Gaza Strip from his home, shot him dead and abducted his son Manhal. The fact that a large band of armed men was allowed to pump 23 bullets into Arafat's body - whereas none of his bodyguards suffered a scratch - bespeaks betrayal and conspiracy.
[others point directly to Hamas]
In Nablus, the local Palestinian intelligence chief Maher Yousuf wondered aloud how nearly 100 gunmen could have fired rocket-propelled grenades, automatic weapons and grenades for 45 minutes in the heart of Gaza City, which is packed with Palestinian Authority security men, without interference. Another Palestinian official, military security chief, Col. Maher Fares, accused interior minister Nasser Yousef of abetting the murder. He refused to believe the Popular Committees, whose Salahedin Brigades claimed the assassination, acted alone without the connivance of someone in authority. A third Palestinian Authority cited Hamas...
See: Arafat's son released after murder
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