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'Day I arrived in Gaza was happiest of my life'

iPakMan

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The body of an Italian pro-Palestinian activist abducted Thursday by Islamic extremists has been found hanged in a Gaza City house, after a clash between Hamas police and the abductors, Hamas officials said in the early hours of Friday morning.

The officials said Hamas police stormed an apartment in Gaza City belonging to a member of the extremist group that released a video of the activist. Hamas police said they found the man dead from an apparent hanging. Security officials added that two men were arrested and others were being sought in the killing.

The International Solidarity Movement had identified the kidnapped activist as Vittorio Arrigoni, 36, a member from Italy. An Italian doctor was reportedly on his way from Israel to examine the body, a Hamas official said.

Arrigoni, a pacifist and blogger, had lived in the Gaza Strip for some time. Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, identified him as one of the group's members. Arrigoni had not been heard from in the past 24 hours, Arraf said.

Italy's government condemned Arrigoni's kidnapping and "brutal murder" on Friday.

The Italian foreign ministry "denounces in the strongest manner the act of vile and senseless violence committed by extremists who are indifferent to the value of human life," a statement said.

The ministry expressed "its deep horror over the barbaric murder and its most sincere condolences to the family."

Arrigoni's abduction was first kidnapping of a foreigner since Hamas overran Gaza in 2007. In the past, all foreign kidnap victims in Gaza had been released unharmed.

According to accounts, Gaza police were surrounding the small house where the clash took place. A police officer said the body was inside, adding that two people were arrested in another location in connection with the abduction, and a third was being sought.


A video released earlier Thursday night showed a man with a thick black blindfold and a large bruise on his face. Apparently seated, he was held in front of the camera by an unseen person.



In a message on the video, an extremist group calling itself "Monotheism and Holy War" demanded that Hamas free its leader, Sheikh Abu Walid-al-Maqdasi, who was arrested in early March; and two other members whose names had not been previously known. The Hamas government had no immediate reaction.


Early Friday, the group – believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda – posted a statement on its website denying responsibility for the abduction.

Before the body was found, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was aware of the kidnapping, was in touch with Arrigoni's family and was taking steps to ensure his safety. "Foreign Minister Franco Frattini is in touch with diplomats in the country and is following the situation with great attention," the statement said.

'A heinous murder'

Hamas' Interior Ministry called a special press conference following the recovery of the Italian peace activist's body in Gaza.

The ministry denounced the act: "This is a heinous murder which does not represent our religion, values and costume," it said in a statement, adding

the act "harms the Palestinian people's goals." Hamas police have launched a full inquiry in the case.

Hamas itself is a fundamentalist Islamic group, but it faces challenges from even more extremist offshoots of Islam, including Walid-al-Maqdasi's group, that take inspiration from al-Qaida and the world jihad movement. Hamas has denied that al-Qaeda has a presence in Gaza.

Kidnappings of foreigners were common before the Hamas takeover. Most of those abducted were foreign correspondents, including Alan Johnston of the BBC, who was abducted and held for 114 days before being freed in July 2007, just after Hamas overran Gaza, expelling forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

ISM operates in the West Bank and Gaza and is known for trying to prevent the Israeli military from carrying out its missions. Arraf said this activist has been going in and out of Gaza for more than two years. He was working with farmers and fishermen.

The ISM incident that got the most attention was the 2003 death of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in southern Gaza while trying to block its path.

'Fighting an occupation is in my DNA'

Since his murder, online videos of an interview Arrigoni held earlier this year have surfaced on the internet.

"I arrived in Gaza on August 23, 2009 on a boat of the Free Gaza Movement with about 40 activists from 17 different countries," he said. "We arrived and broke a siege lasting since 1967. I remember this day as one of the happiest in my life."

Arrigoni said he came from a family of partisans. "My grandfathers died fighting an occupation, another occupation, the Nazi-fascist occupation in Italy. For this reason, my DNA, my blood probably has parts pushing me to fight for freedom and human rights."

Arrigoni said that there are people who are willing to devote their lives to support the people in Gaza despite their governments' complaisance and "cooperation with the Zionist-Israeli regime."

He said that he and his friends came to Gaza to "face the snipers as a human shield" and did what the UN should be doing to enforce international law.

Hamas: Body of kidnapped activist found - Israel News, Ynetnews

Poor guy, lived and died hating Israel and loving the Palestinians just to be killed by them.
 
What a shame rip to the man and yeah be redy all of them will be blaming israel now
 
What a shame rip to the man and yeah be redy all of them will be blaming israel now

Wow, you were right haha. Hamas just "hinted" that Israel actually killed this man to intimidate people who want to come to Gaza. :lol:
 
was it hamas that killed him? from what i have heard and read it was a small terrorist organization that hamas is against!

i also read that hamas is againgst Al-qaida and taliban and that kind of terrorist organization and that they are fighting against that in gaza.

can you verify it?

ohh... and R.I.P to this brave man! ( :italyflag: )
 
I read hamas is blaming a more radical islamic group than itself, and has vowed to bring perpetrators to justice.(BBC)
BBC News - Hamas speaks out against the killing of an activist in Gaza

@silko and desioptimist
While Hamas is considered the major problem in Gaza, there are militant groups that are even more radical than them.
We know that this group that killed the Italian man was not Hamas but an Al-Qaeda affiliate while Hamas also "hinted" that Israel killed this man to discourage any future flotilla activists.
Hamas official hints Israel killed Italian activist to intimidate future Gaza flotilla members - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
 
@silko and desioptimist
While Hamas is considered the major problem in Gaza, there are militant groups that are even more radical than them.
We know that this group that killed the Italian man was not Hamas but an Al-Qaeda affiliate while Hamas also "hinted" that Israel killed this man to discourage any future flotilla activists.
Hamas official hints Israel killed Italian activist to intimidate future Gaza flotilla members - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

I think that is just politics, like israel does. I will be happy if hamas fights israel in diplomacy and media campaign than fire rockets to israel.
 
I think that is just politics, like israel does. I will be happy if hamas fights israel in diplomacy and media campaign than fire rockets to israel.

They already do. They refer to us as a terrorist state but most countries do not have diplomatic ties with them because they are considered a terrorist group. And this example was not politics it was simply "Blame everything and anything on Israel" norm.
 
Yes, Hamas = Netanyahu.
Gazan Salafists = Avig. Lieberman (Israeli FM)--or may be even worse than Lieberman.

RIP.
 
Arrigoni's life was anything but safe. In September 2008 he was injured accompanying Palestinian fishermen at sea. Two years ago he received a death threat from a US far-right website that provided any would-be killers with a photo and details of distinguishing physical traits, such as a tattoo on his shoulder.

When he was seized this week, he had been about to return to Italy for the commemoration of the death of a man he in some ways resembled, the anti-Mafia activist Peppino Impastato, who was murdered in 1978 for his ideals.

Arrigoni's fervent commitment to the Palestinian cause is evident on his website, Guerrilla Radio, wh ere he wrote that the Israeli blockade was "criminal" and four Palestinians who died in a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt frontier this week were "martyrs".

But the 36-year-old Italian was first and foremost a pacifist. His book about his experiences in Gaza was titled Restiamo Umani (Let Us Remain Human).

"He always said it: 'Let us remain human, even in the most difficult moments,'" Beretta said. "I would ask him: 'How can you stay human at certain times?' And he would answer: 'Because, despite everything, there must always be humanity within us. We have to bring it to others.'"
 
Arrigoni's life was anything but safe. In September 2008 he was injured accompanying Palestinian fishermen at sea. Two years ago he received a death threat from a US far-right website that provided any would-be killers with a photo and details of distinguishing physical traits, such as a tattoo on his shoulder.

When he was seized this week, he had been about to return to Italy for the commemoration of the death of a man he in some ways resembled, the anti-Mafia activist Peppino Impastato, who was murdered in 1978 for his ideals.

Arrigoni's fervent commitment to the Palestinian cause is evident on his website, Guerrilla Radio, wh ere he wrote that the Israeli blockade was "criminal" and four Palestinians who died in a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt frontier this week were "martyrs".

But the 36-year-old Italian was first and foremost a pacifist. His book about his experiences in Gaza was titled Restiamo Umani (Let Us Remain Human).

"He always said it: 'Let us remain human, even in the most difficult moments,'" Beretta said. "I would ask him: 'How can you stay human at certain times?' And he would answer: 'Because, despite everything, there must always be humanity within us. We have to bring it to others.'"

Hey failstuff, hows it going man? How`s the weather in Florida? Hope all is well.:cheers:
 
It wasn't Hamas, it was another Islamist extremist group that is fighting Hamas for power.

A despicable and barbaric murder that will not only cause the family of this good-hearted and selfless man great pain but also possibly deter activists in the future from going there.
 
It wasn't Hamas, it was another Islamist extremist group that is fighting Hamas for power.

A despicable and barbaric murder that will not only cause the family of this good-hearted and selfless man great pain but also possibly deter activists in the future from going there.

Oh, i don`t think this will deter them. Maybe more will come in honor of this guy.
 

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