Israel Matzav

Biting the hand that feeds them

'Palestinians' today opened fire on a festival taking place at a UN school in the Gaza Strip. The body guard of a local leader of 'moderate' Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen's Fatah was killed and seven other people were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Muslim extremists had earlier visited the school, warning authorities not to hold the festival, UN and security officials said. They also issued a warning on Saturday.

It was not clear why the extremists objected to the event, at the school in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, or whether they were behind the shooting, the officials said. The gunmen were masked, making identification difficult, security officials said.

At least one foreigner, John Ging, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, was inside the school when the shooting broke out, said Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for the agency. Ging was not hurt, but remained holed up inside the school, he said.

In March, Ging escaped a kidnapping attempt unharmed after gunmen fired on his convoy. The incident prompted the UN to take stronger security measures, including police convoys for senior staff.

Abu Hasna said no UNRWA staff were wounded in Sunday's shooting, which was being investigated.

Palestinian medical officials identified the dead man as a bodyguard of Majid Abu Shameleh, a senior official in President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Abu Shameleh was leaving the event when the shooting erupted. No children were hurt.

But give them a state reichlet and all of the world's problems will be solved.

Update 8:18 PM

Haaretz is reporting that the event that was fired on was "sports day" and that the terrorists complained that the event taught the children 'immoral values.' (Hat Tip: Little Green Footballs).

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:08 PM