Hamas member 'assassinated' in Syrian capital Damascus

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

28 June 2012 Last updated at 12:23 GMT

Hamas member 'assassinated' in Syrian capital Damascus

The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas says one of its members has been assassinated in Damascus.

Kamal Ghanaja was reportedly shot dead by gunmen who burst into his home in the Syrian capital's northern suburb of Qudsaya earlier this week.

Hamas has not formally blamed anyone for the killing but one official told the AFP news agency that the Israeli secret service, Mossad, was behind it.

Israel's defence minister described the accusation as not "necessarily true".

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18626026

Also: Hamas says the Mossad killed its senior figure (The Guardian)

[azurnoir]

1. Interesting reports

because according to Palestinian news there is little question that it was an assassination and the blame seems placed on Assad's forces for good reason, Hamas supports the Syrian rebels, and not on Mossad as some unnamed Hamas spokesman supposedly said

The Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution said in a statement that Ghanaja's body was found in his home in Damascus' Al-Yarmouk refugee camp with clear signs of torture, including cigarette burns. Ghanaja's belongings -- including his laptop, weapons and money -- were not stolen, the council said.

The Beirut-based satellite channel Al-Mayadeen reported that Hamas was waiting for a forensic report before responding to the assassination.

In a statement in Gaza, Hamas did not immediately accuse Israel of involvement in Ghanaja's death, saying only that it had launched an investigation "to identify the party behind the deplorable crime".

Several websites affiliated to the opposition to President Bashar Assad blamed the Syrian regime for Ghanaja's killing and said Assad's forces murdered the Hamas leader as a message to the movement not to reject its long-time ally.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=499517

Leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas turned publicly against their long-time ally President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Friday, endorsing the revolt aimed at overthrowing his dynastic rule.

The policy shift deprives Assad of one of his few remaining Sunni Muslim supporters in the Arab world and deepens his international isolation. It was announced in Hamas speeches at Friday prayers in Cairo and a rally in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas went public after nearly a year of equivocating as Assad's army, largely led by fellow members of the president's Alawite sect, has crushed mainly Sunni protesters and rebels.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/24/us-syria-palestinians-idUSTRE81N1CC20120224