In Gaza, several dozen Palestinian terrorist gunmen attacked the home of former Palestinian Authority security chief Moussa Arafat. The pre-dawn battle left several dead, including Arafat himself. His son was taken prisoner and spirited away. Over fifty gunmen, who arrived in about twenty cars, were involved in the attack. RPGs and AK-47s were used.
Arafat was a cousin of the late Palestinian Authority founder Yassir Arafat. Moussa Arafat, like many Palestinian Authority officials, was generally seen as corrupt. Moussa Arafat was not only considered corrupt, but used his position, as head of security, to use force to put down those who openly protested the corruption. This was the third time, in the last year, that someone made a serious attempt to kill Moussa Arafat. He had been removed as head of security last April, but still served as an advisor in the Palestinian Authority. There are many other Palestinian Authority leaders seen (by most Palestinians) as corrupt. All Palestinian leaders, of whatever persuasion, surround themselves with bodyguards. But now those bodyguards will have to work harder, because the threat of attack has now increased. The long feared civil war among the Palestinians just got a little closer.
