An Italian national and pro-Palestinian activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, was strangled to death in Gaza, and his body was discovered this morning in an abandoned house. Tawhid wal-Jihad, an al-Qaeda-linked group, had acknowledged that it was holding Arrigoni, whom they said would only be released if their own leader was freed by Hamas. As reported by the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13088630):
"Vittorio Arrigoni was seized by Salafist radicals, an Islamist movement itself that considers Hamas as too moderate, BBC Gaza correspondent Jon Donnison says.
The Salafists had threatened to execute Mr Arrigoni by 1400 GMT on Friday unless several prisoners, including their leader, Sheikh Abu Walid al-Maqdasi, were released. Sheikh Maqdasi was arrested by Hamas police last month in Gaza City.
In a video posted on YouTube, Mr Arrigoni appeared to have been beaten and his eyes were covered with thick black tape.
A caption on the video read: 'The Italian hostage entered our land only to spread corruption.' The video called Italy 'the infidel state'.'
Tawhid wal-Jihad, however, is now distancing itself from the murder, and Hamas is now blaming Israel (see: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=216777).
Hamas is saying that the murder of Arrigoni was a "shameful act, contrary to the tradition of the Palestinian people." Oh, really? Was the shooting by Hamas of an advanced Kornet anti-tank missile last week at an Israeli school bus (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2011/04/war-that-wasnt-netanyahu-demonstrates.html) more in keeping with the tradition of the Palestinian people?
Who would believe that any Palestinian political faction could make Hamas, whose charter calls for the murder of all Jews (not just Israelis), look moderate?
Meanwhile, two Grad missiles were fired from Gaza this afternoon at the Israeli city of Ashdod. Hamas is demonstrating that it cannot even keep its own military wing in check, and a broader conflict is only a matter of time.
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