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Palestinian gunmen in Gaza (file)
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| By israelinsider staff May 6, 2007 |
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Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a sports day at a United Nations-operated elementary school in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing a bodyguard of a local Fatah leader and wounding seven people.
Although no one has yet claimed credit for the attack, Muslim extremists had earlier visited the al-Amareya school in Rafah, warning authorities not to hold the event, because boys and girls were taking part together. The gunmen said the event "taught children immoral values."
Palestinian officials said the attack was definitely the work of the local branch of al-Qaeda, the Jerusalem Post reported. "There is no doubt that al-Qaida is operating in the Gaza Strip," a senior PA security official said. "Today's attack carries the fingerprints of al-Qaida."
Witnesses told The Jerusalem Post that at least 70 Muslim fundamentalists participated in the attack on the Omariya School, where UNRWA and PA officials were attending a celebration.
Previous violence in Gaza has included a string of attacks on Internet cafes, music stores and restaurants by Islamic extremists.
The director of UNRWA operations in the Gaza Strip, John Ging, hid inside the school during the shootings, and PA policemen whisked him away to a safe location.
"The protesters surrounded the school and began chanting slogans denouncing the event as immoral," said one witness. "Their main argument was that girls and boys were asked to dance together in violation of Islamic teachings. This is a false claim because I didn't see a mixed gathering."
The attackers threw hand grenades and opened fire with automatic rifles as participants prepared to leave the school area.
"It was a large organized attack on the elementary school," he said. "This is something unprecedented. It's a miracle that many people were not killed."
The dead man was identified as Suleiman al-Shaer, a bodyguard for Fatah legislator Majed Abu Shamalah, who was one of the speakers at the celebration.
Five Palestinian journalists covering the event were beaten by masked gunmen, an eyewitness told the Jerusalem Post.
Abu Shamalah, whose bodyguard was killed in the attack, described the celebration as a cultural and athletic event. He rejected the claim that boys and girls were dancing together.
"On the eve of the celebration, the Salafis in Rafah distributed leaflets accusing UNRWA of encouraging infidelity among Muslims," he said. "They described the UNRWA director as an anti-Islam infidel and threatened to prevent the celebration by force."
Abu Shamalah said he and many Palestinians were ashamed by the attack. "The celebration did not violate Islamic law," he said. "These mercenaries do not represent the real Islam. I call on all Palestinians to stand against this bunch of ignoramuses who are leading the Palestinians toward the abyss."
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