Related: Palestinian ex-security chief killed in Gaza¡¡

The assassination of General Musa Arafat at his home in Gaza City at predawn Wednesday by a group of militants has sent a serious message to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).   (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

    GAZA, Sept. 7 (Xinhuanet, By saud Abu Ramadan) -- The assassination of General Musa Arafat at his home in Gaza City at predawn Wednesday by a group of militants has sent a serious message to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

    Well-informed Palestinian security sources said about 80 masked militants stormed Arafat's home in the neighborhood of Tal al-Hawain the southern Gaza City, threw hand grenades at the house and clashed with his personal bodyguards.

    The militants shot dead Arafat and abducted his son Manhal who is considered his father's right-arm man, they added.   Medical sources at al-Quds Hospital that run by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the city confirmed that Arafat arrived dead at the hospital.

    Witnesses and neighbors said they heard about four explosions of hand grenades and intensive gunfire.

    A group calling itself the Popular Resistance Committees of the Intifada (uprising) has claimed responsibility for the assassination.

    A man recognizing himself as Abu Abeer, the group's spokesman, told reporters and local radio stations in Gaza that his group is responsible for killing Arafat and kidnapping his 29-years-old son, declining to go into details on why his group killed Arafat. 

    The way that General Arafat was grabbed, dragged from his house and shot in the head by the militants was very humiliating to a Palestinian general who spent all his life struggling for the Palestinian cause as a member of the ruling Fatah movement, the Palestinian sources said.¡¡

    It is the first time that a high-ranking official was assassinated since the establishment of the PNA in 1994. 

    The action has been considered by analysts as setting off an alarm to the PNA to end the status of chaos, corruption and security deterioration in the Palestinian territories. 

    A Palestinian analyst said if Arafat was killed for his corruption, then why the assailants chose such a timing and such an awful and humiliating way.¡¡

    "I believe that there are other major reasons behind killing Arafat in this sensitive time. We hope that the investigation would at least reveal some of these reasons. But I still strongly believe that there will be hidden reasons that would never be revealed to the public," said Salem Rajab, a Palestinian analyst from Gaza. 

    Musa Arafat, born in 1941, was chief of the Palestinian military intelligence since the PNA was established in 1994.   The Palestinian Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday a state of emergency among the Palestinian security apparatuses after the assassination.¡¡

    The ministry said in a written statement that Interior Minister Nasser Youssef has decided to put the Palestinian security forces on high alert.

    Youssef decided to investigate personally in this case till finding those responsible and bringing them to justice. He ordered to follow the criminals whoever they are, said the statement. 

    Palestinian security sources said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas held an emergency meeting for the Palestinian National Security Council (PNSC) following the assassination of Arafat. 

    Abbas condemned the assassination of his military advisor Musa Arafat and promised to find the responsible and bring them to justice.¡¡

    Abbas added the Palestinian security apparatuses and the interior ministry will spare no efforts to ensure the release of Manhal Arafat.

    Other Palestinian Islamic and national powers also rejected the principle of political assassinations and condemned the incident.  

    Abdullah Ifranji, chief of organization and mobilization bureau in the Fatah movement, described the assassination as a dangerous crime, calling on to bring the militants responsible for the attack to justice.¡¡

    Hamas said although Gen. Musa Arafat was one of the people that killed Palestinians, but it rejects the policy of assassination. 

    Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman, told reporters that the policy of assassination, whoever their targets are, is totally rejected as it will exert negative impact on the internal Palestinian relations.¡¡

    He also said resistance arms is always used against the Zionist occupation, not against Palestinians.  Enditem