al-Jazeera: Moussa Arafat assassinated
Palestine, Politics, 9/7/2005

Al-Jazeera satellite TV said that unidentified gunmen assassinated today at dawn Lt. Gen. Mousa Arafat, former chairman of the Palestinian military intelligence and the advisor for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They also kidnapped his son.

The correspondent added that several veiled men in 20 cars broke into the house of Arafat after a quick exchange of fire with his guards and killed him before they took his son to unidentified destination, noting that medical sources confirmed Arafat's death.

The correspondent also stressed that three of Arafat's guards were injured during the clashes.

He indicated that the Palestinian Authority opened an investigation over the incident which is considered the most dangerous of its kind against a Palestinian official.

The correspondent added that the incident carries more than one question mark. Arafat had received many threats and is known for his extremism against the Palestinian resistance movements, especially the Islamic resistance movement Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in 1996.

He indicated that the incident indicates how things will be after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza decided on September 15th.

Chairman of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas had removed Arafat and several security leaders who are over 60 years old. This measure was in the course of a program to reform the Palestinian security departments. But later, Abbas appointed Arafat as a military advisor. Arafat who had been living in Gaza since the return back of certain PLO cadres following the Oslo agreement, was one of the relatives of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Previous Stories:
  Nearby settlement of Egypt - Gaza border crossing   (9/6/2005)
  With Gaza pullout, Israel, Palestinians must implement Roadmap, says UN   (8/25/2005)
  Israel evacuates four settlements in occupied West Bank   (8/24/2005)

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