GAZA, Mar. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's advisor for human rights affairs and prominent journalist Khalil Al-Zeben was assassinated predawn on Tuesday in Gaza city.

    Palestinian security sources said that masked armed men opened fire at Al-Zeben, 59, who was chief-editor of "Al-Nashra" magazine for Human rights, while he was leaving his office in Gaza city at 1:00 am on Tuesday, adding that Al-Zenben was shot with 12 bullets.

    The Palestinian journalists' syndicate strongly denounced the killing of Al-Zeben in a communique released earlier on Tuesday andcalled on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to immediately prosecute the culprits.

    Head of the Palestinian journalists' syndicate Tawfiq Abu Khussasaid in the communique "we strongly denounce the criminal act perpetrated against our colleague and we call on the PNA to immediately intervene and arrest the culprits."

    The security chaos inside the Gaza Strip has reached a climax, after a series of attacks and assaults carried out by unknown armedmen and have targeted journalists, their offices and properties.

    Palestinian journalists, meanwhile, had gone on an one-day set-in strike last month and abstained from reporting the PNA's information in protest against continuous assaults carried out against them.

    The strike had finally ended with the intervention of Arafat, who promised to give orders about the quick prosecution of those responsible for the attacks carried out against the journalists. Enditem