By Lia Tarachansky, The Real News– 28 April 2011
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=6677
Following fatal kidnapping of Italian activist Arrigoni in Gaza, NGOs up security measures, Hamas internal strife continues.
On April 15, 2011, Italian journalist and activist Vittorio Arrigoni was kidnapped and killed in the Gaza strip. According to a video released by his kidnappers, they belonged to a Salafi group, which Hamas identified included a former Hamas policeman. While the mainstream media portrayed the killing as an act of an extremist group identifying with Al Qaeda, many are saying the group, as other Salafi groups operating in Gaza represents a growing force from inside Hamas itself. Arrigoni’s brutal killing was commemorated in the West Bank, in Gaza, and in Israel, in conjunction with his funeral in Italy. The consequences of the incident however reach further than the impact on his family and friends as other international organizations and NGOs rethink their security measures in the Gaza strip, sources say.
Bio
Huwaida Arraf is a human rights activist, lawyer and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization. Her law practice is based in Ramallah.
Christopher Finucane is the director of humanitarianpolicy.org. He is a co-chairperson of the NGO Security and Standards in Staff Protection working group for the Humanitarian Action Summit (Harvard Humanitarian Initiative), and is a Conflict Adviser to the United Kingdom’s Stabilization Unit.
Michael Weiss is a blogger with The Telegraph. He is also the communications director of the Henry Jackson Society and Just Journalism.