Soccer Dad: Assassination in gaza

April 1, 2007

Assassination in gaza

Elder of Ziyon make a point of noting that Palesitnian on Palestinian violence is largely ignored in the media.

How much play this Jerusalem Post story "Sheikh dead in new Gaza power struggle" will get, is uncertain.

The assassination over the weekend of a prominent sheikh in Gaza City has brought to the surface a behind-the-scenes power struggle that has been raging in recent months between Hamas and a new al-Qaida-affiliated group identified with Salafism - a school of thought that takes the pious ancestors (Salaf) of the patristic period of early Islam as exemplary models.
Salafism is a branch of Islam that is often referred to as Wahhabi - a derogatory term that many adherents to this tradition avoid using. Salafis believe that Islam declined as a result of foreign innovations (bid'ah) and seek an Islamic revival through the purging of these influences and the emulation of the early generations of Islam.

Here are the specifics:

Eyewitnesses told The Jerusalem Post that Adnan Manasreh, 30, a prominent member of the Salafi branch in the Gaza Strip, was gunned down as he walked out of a mosque in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City last Friday. Two of his relatives were wounded in the attack.

"Four masked gunmen approached him and opened fire, killing him instantly," the witnesses reported. "They fled in a white Peugeot."

A senior PA security official in the Gaza Strip told the Post that "Hamas's fingerprints are all over this murder." He said that intelligence gathered by the PA security forces showed that the assassination was carried out by members of Hamas's armed wing, Izzaddin Kassam.

The official noted that tensions between the Salafis and Hamas have been mounting in the Gaza Strip ever since Ayman Zawahiri, the No. 2 in al-Qaida, accused Hamas of abandoning its ideology and "selling out" to Israel and the US. The Salafis are very close to al-Qaida and the two have been trying to establish a presence in the Gaza Strip, much to the dismay of Hamas.

Quickly, there are few things that are evident from this article.
1) In the power vacuum after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, Al Qaeda is moving in.
2) Given that Manasreh was accompanied by relatives, it shows the power of clans in Palestinian society. Blood relations as much as (or perhaps more than) politics or religion determine the faultlines in the society.
3) Hamas is perhaps perceived as moderate in that it accepts its role as a political party. Salafis, by contrast, view politics with contempt. Both, though, have compatible overall goals. In absolute terms, Hamas is extremist. (For that matter so is Fatah.
4) We will not see the UN condemn Hamas for this "extrajudicial killing." Hamas for its part is denying any involvement, blaming the killing instead on elements wishing to drive a wedge between Hamas and the Salafis.

Hundreds of PA security officers attended Manasreh's funeral over the weekend, triggering speculation about the close ties between the Salafis and the PA. Many in Gaza City are convinced that the PA is using the Salafis as a tool to undermine Hamas's popularity.

Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, strongly denied that his movement was behind the assassination.

"These lies are being spread by Fatah and its media outlets," he said. "They are aimed at driving a wedge between our people. Some people in Fatah are trying to renew the infighting [with Hamas]."

Will this have any effect on Hamas's war plans?

Hill Billy White Trash is more concerned with Israel's lack of concern.

Adnan Manasreh,Hamas, Gaza.