GAZA CITY Ñ Palestinian insurgents have failed in an assassination
attempt of the nephew of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Palestinian sources said insurgents tried to kill Mussa Arafat in a
grenade attack in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. The sources said Mussa, the
nephew of the PA chairman and head of PA Military Intelligence, was not
hurt.
About a dozen people were injured when a grenade was fired toward the PA
Military Intelligence headquarters in Gaza City. They said a
rocket-propelled grenade struck the roof of the compound near a detention
facility.
The sources said the grenade was fired toward the office of Mussa
Arafat. But the rocket-propelled grenade went off course and landed near the
prison, injuring both officers and detainees. Arafat was not in his office
when the attack took place.
On late Thursday, PA Military Intelligence issued a statement that
asserted that Arafat was the target of the attack. The statement described
the attackers as "anonymous."
"The attempted assassination failed," the statement said.
Palestinian sources said they doubted that Arafat was targeted by the
Islamic opposition. They said the intelligence chief has numerous
adversaries within the ruling Fatah movement.
