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    Wednesday, May 14, 2008

    Principal at UN school was missile developer for Islamic Jihad

    GAZA CITY — A United Nations school principal killed by an Israeli air strike has been identified as a leading developer of missiles for the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad.

    Awad Al Qiq, a science instructor and principal of the UN Relief and Works Agency school in Rafah, was said to have been one of the top missile, mortars and rocket developers for Jihad, the most active insurgency group in the Gaza Strip. The 33-year-old Al Qiq was killed in an Israel Air Force helicopter strike near the Egyptian border on April 30, Middle East Newsline reported.

    Al Qiq, who led the Rafah Prep Boys School, was said to have come from a clan that was active in the Hamas-led war against Israel. The Al Qiq clan has been a major force in the assembly of rockets for Hamas as well as several Palestinian militias.

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    The UN agency has denied any connection to Al Qiq's missile activities, which took place about three kilometers from his school. But Palestinian sources said Al Qiq, who left a wife and five children, led Jihad's so-called engineering unit, which assembled projectiles and bombs.

    The sources said Al Qiq, a university graduate who majored in physics, oversaw missile and rocket production at night at a Rafah workshop. Over his eight-year teaching career, Al Qiq met senior UN officials including John Ging, Gaza operations director.

    UN staffers have included several members of the Palestinian insurgency leadership in the Gaza Strip. Former PA Interior Minister Said Siyam, today a leader in Hamas, was an UNRWA teacher.

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