GAZA: PALESTINIAN COMMANDER WOUNDED IN SHOOTING , IS TAKEN TO ISRAELI HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT

Record ID: 324544

  • Title: GAZA: PALESTINIAN COMMANDER WOUNDED IN SHOOTING , IS TAKEN TO ISRAELI HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT
  • Date: 25th August 2005
  • Summary: (W5) GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP (AUGUST 25, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE OF PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE HOSPITAL WHERE BRIGADIER-GENERAL TAREQ ABU RAJAB IS BEING TREATED 0.03 2. VARIOUS OF ABU RAJAB BEING TAKEN OUT OF HOSPITAL ON STRETCHER AND CARRIED TO AMBULANCE 0.29 3. VARIOUS OF SECURITY MEN WITH GUNS SURROUNDING ABU RAJAB 0.44 4. SLV AMBULANCE LEAVING HOSPITAL BEING FOLLOWED BY MEDIA AND CROWD 0.56 5. SLV ABU RAJAB'S DAMAGED CAR WHICH WAS SHOT AT BY UNIDENTIFIED GUNMEN 1.03 6. CLOSE-UP OF BULLET HOLES IN ABU RAJAB'S CAR 1.11 6. WIDE OF PEOPLE GATHERED IN STREET 1.16 7. WIDE OF ABU RAJAB'S DAMAGED CAR BEING LIFTED BY CRANE ONTO TRUCK 1.26 8. SLV PALESTINIAN POLICEMEN IN STREET 1.33 9. SLV PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND DAMAGED CAR ON TRUCK 1.41 10. WIDE OF CAR ON BACK ON TOW TRUCK 1.48 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th September 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA5AJ4LIMCCBHJ13TV1056FZKAV
  • Story Text: Wounded Palestinian commander taken to Israeli
    hospital for further treatment.




    The commander of the Palestinian intelligence who
    was shot and wounded earlier on Wednesday (August 25) was
    taken to a central Israeli hospital for further treatment,
    army sources said.

    Unidentified gunmen who ambushed the Brigadier-General
    Tareq Abu Rajab in Gaza City, killed his two bodyguards,
    fuelling fears of escalating chaos.

    Abu Rajab was acting boss of the General Intelligence
    Service since the former head resigned last month amid
    unprecedented Palestinian unrest over demands for
    anti-corruption reform.

    Rajab, 58, was close to Palestinian President Yasser
    Arafat, but he was not widely seen as taking sides in a
    power struggle that pits younger leaders - who say they
    want change - against an old guard, accused of graft and
    failing to win a state.

    The tussle for control has been triggered by Israel's
    plan to withdraw troops and settlers next year from the
    territory it has occupied since the 1967 war.

    Gunmen fired from two moving cars as Abu Rajab drove to
    his office in Gaza City, security sources said. Then they
    peeled off in different directions in what looked like a
    carefully plotted attack.

    Two of Abu Rajab's bodyguards were killed and another
    injured. Medics said the commander was in a serious
    condition.

    Violence surged in Gaza last month, when gunmen
    demanding changes to at least a dozen rival security forces
    and the sacking of corrupt commanders, briefly kidnapped
    local officials and foreign aid workers, then set some
    security posts ablaze.

    The then head of General Intelligence, Amin al-Hindi,
    resigned over the chaos. Arafat refused to let him go, but
    al-Hindi has never returned to his job.

    After four years of an uprising against Israel,
    Palestinians are increasingly vocal in calling for change
    from a leadership that has not delivered an independent
    state either through talks with Israel or force.

    Although direct criticism of Arafat is rare, many of
    his aides are accused of being out of touch and most
    interested in personal gain.

    Israel's army said it was checking the report of the
    attack on Abu Rajab. While it has frequently assassinated
    Gaza militant leaders in air strikes, it has never killed
    such a senior Palestinian security chief.


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