The estimable Khaled Abu Toameh profiles the Hamas leader who was killed by Israeli bombs yesterday. Looks like the man responsible for throwing Fatah members off Gaza buildings is the one that was killed by dropping a building on him.
Nizar Rayyan, the Hamas military commander who was killed in Thursday’s air raid on his home in the Jabalya refugee camp, was a sworn enemy not only of Israel, but also of the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas.
[…] Rayyan personally led the Hamas militiamen who seized the compound and PA security installations throughout Gaza. He later boasted that the Strip had been “cleansed” of “traitors” and “CIA agents” – a reference to Abbas and his former security chiefs.
Let me remind you of what happened when Hamas took over Gaza:
It began on a Monday 11 days ago, when a Fatah man was tossed off a multi-story building in the Strip; it subsequently came to light that Hamas operatives managed to shoot him in the legs before throwing him to his death. Although this method was used on only one other Fatah operative, it had the desired effect and became the talk of the town. A number of Fatah leaders, who knew that their names appeared on Hamas hit lists, decided to make their exit, with some heading to Ramallah and others crossing into Egypt.
[…] Hamas was not using a random hit list. Every Hamas patrol carried with it a laptop containing a list of Fatah operatives in Gaza, and an identity number and a star appeared next to each name. A red star meant the operative was to be executed and a blue one meant he was to be shot in the legs – a special, cruel tactic developed by Hamas, in which the shot is fired from the back of the knee so that the kneecap is shattered when the bullet exits the other side. A black star signaled arrest, and no star meant that the Fatah member was to be beaten and released. Hamas patrols took the list with them to hospitals, where they searched for wounded Fatah officials, some of whom they beat up and some of whom they abducted.
Funny how that British chump who said that Hamas really wasn’t all that bad didn’t seem to find the above information in his research.
Looks like Rayyan was an all-around scumbag, though.
At the beginning of the second intifada, Rayyan sent one of his sons to carry out a suicide attack in Gush Katif’s Elei Sinai in 2001. Two Israelis were killed. Rayyan was also responsible for a series of suicide bombings and attacks inside the Green Line, including the suicide bombing in Ashdod Port in 2004 in which 10 Israelis died.
In recent years, Rayyan served as a liaison between the political leadership of Hamas and Izzadin Kassam. He is even said to have been one of the very few Hamas operatives who knew where IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit was being held in the Gaza Strip.
Good riddance to one giant POS. Feel free to refer back to this post when some moron tries to tell you that Israel’s killing this guy was a war crime. The man was a walking war crime—Israel put him out of the world’s misery.
More on the subject: Ghayan’s (whom most of the press call Rayyan for some reason, not that he will mind now) death circumstances are a bit different from what you have reported in the previous post related to him.
It is not that his family refused to leave him: from my sources, for more than an year he refused to stay away from his family, considering their company to be best deterrent to IAF attack.
Speak about one popular folk hero…
I hope Israel is serious about wiping HAMAS off the face of the earth. I fear this is just another half-a**ed Kabuki Theater attack.
***
Isolate each large HAMAS city / compound and summarily execute all terrorists. Any armed male or person with gunpowder residue on their hands should die in their “heaven”.
***
Fight on to victory. Then peace and reeducation may be possible.
***
John Bibb
SnoopyTheGoon Says:
Ghayan’s (whom most of the press call Rayyan for some reason,
Two possible reasons for the “Rayyan” rendering:
1. If his name begins with the Arabic letter, “ghayn,” it sounds similar to the letter “r” when pronounced by a Frenchman. Most Israelis today, from what I understand, favor the French-style pronunciation of “r,” so their is possible room for misunderstanding.
2. On the other hand, the MSM probably spelled his name “Rayyan” to make him sound more “boy-next-door,” with a name that almost sounds Irish to Americans and Australians and Canadians and Brits.
One final note: I read that — following the IAF strike on his dwelling — Rayyan’s HEADLESS body flew out of the building.
Poetic justice.
The only way I can get near proper pronunciation of “ghayn” is by saying “g”, “r”, and clearing my throat at the same time.