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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Gunmen attack Palestinian official in Gaza, killing 5 |
| 2006-09-15 |
| GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a car in Gaza City in a drive by shooting that killed a top Palestinian security officer and four of his bodyguards, senior Palestinian security officials said. The brazen mid-afternoon attack occurred near the Beach refugee camp, not far from the home of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The gunmen, driving a sports utility vehicle, targeted a gray Audi belonging to Brig. Gen. Jad Tayeh, the head of international coordination in the Palestinian intelligence service, spraying dozens of bullets into the car, said Khaled Abu Hilal, interior ministry spokesman. Tayeh was killed along with four bodyguards. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, though officials speculated that it could be an internal feud within the intelligence service. Security officials said the attackers took a black briefcase Tayeh was carrying. "This crime and its timing is a dangerous message. We won't accept it or stay silent," said Interior Minister Said Siyam. Siyam said the attack appeared timed to disrupt negotiations to form a national unity government. Gaza has been wracked for much of the year by internal violence between militants from Hamas, which won Palestinian parliamentary elections in January, and those affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, which controls the security services. The internal fighting ebbed after Israel began a widescale offensive into Gaza in response to a June 25 attack by Hamas-linked militants that led to the capture of an Israeli soldier. Earlier this week, Abbas and Haniyeh, of Hamas, announced that they would form a national unity government in an effort to end sanctions against the Palestinian Authority. Many Palestinians hoped that the agreement would also end the internal tensions. Also Friday, a small explosion caused minor damage in a courtyard outside a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City, church workers said. The early morning blast appeared to have been caused by a small, homemade explosive device, which damaged a door and caused minor damage to the floor and walls, church workers said. No one was injured. A second explosion hit the church hours later and a concussion grenade was thrown near the church in the afternoon. Neither of those blasts caused any damage, but church officials worried that the attacks were retaliation for remarks that Pope Benedict XVI made Tuesday that angered Muslims. "This is the first time this has ever happened to our church," said the church's priest, Rev. Artinious Alexious. "We don't know why they have done this. We are Greek Orthodox and have no relation to the Pope." Hossam Taweel, a Christian lawmaker and representative of Gaza's Christians, said there was no firm link between the attacks and the controversy over the Pope. "We deal with this incident as a criminal activity and not as a sectarian act," he said. |
| Posted by:mcsegeek1 |
| #9 Wonder who their next target would be? Probably all people with the last name of Jue, then all Chinese people named Joo. I'm sure that somewhere near the end of the list is themselves. They just can't help it. Too bad they can't work in reverse order. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-15 22:57 |
| #8 Didn't take long for Pope Benedict to relatiate, did it? |
| Posted by: Matt 2006-09-15 19:46 |
| #7 #4 Zen - I know. It's a testament to the paleos' insanity that they think this kind of shit is normal. If they could get rid of all the Jews in the Middle East, they'd still be insane. Wonder who their next target would be? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-15 19:18 |
| #6 Sounds like we need to send more arms to both side of this issue and let them settle it like men. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-09-15 17:34 |
| #5 Ah, red on red. My favorite color scheme. |
| Posted by: WhitecollarRedneck 2006-09-15 17:04 |
| #4 A "security officer" has to have more than four bodyguards. Barbara, layers of security are one of the only things running deeper than the bullsh!t spewing forth from the Palestinians. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-15 15:45 |
| #3 Hmmmm. A "security officer" has to have more than four bodyguards. Anybody (in Gaza) see what's wrong with this picture? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-15 15:05 |
| #2 Gunmen attack Palestinian official in Gaza, killing 5. In the name of Mohamed. |
| Posted by: Gleper Whomoque3392 2006-09-15 14:17 |
| #1 Exactley where are the Palestinian's helping us in Irag? I mean that's what the Muslim street is up in arms about right? I thought everything in thier world was now linked to Irag. |
| Posted by: plainslow 2006-09-15 13:13 |