Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia on death of Moussa Arafat

(7 Sep 2005) 1. Various exterior of Palestinian Cabinet building 2. Convoy of French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy arriving 3. Various Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia meeting with Douste-Blazy 4. Blazy and Queria shaking hands 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Qureia, Palestinian Prime Minister: "No doubt it's a very dangerous act that targets one of the Palestinian security leaders who has a history in this field. It's a real violation against the security of Palestinians. This morning we called all the security leaders that are in regular meetings, President Abbas, myself in the very early morning, together with the security leaders. And we are following all the details in this regard and we will follow this." 6. Qureia leaving STORYLINE Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said on Wednesday the killing of former Palestinian security official Moussa Arafat was a "very dangerous act". Early on Wednesday morning, about 100 masked militants stormed the heavily guarded home of Gaza's former security chief, dragged him out in his pyjamas and killed him in the street in a burst of gunfire. The attack was a brazen challenge to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas just days before Israel was to hand Gaza to Palestinian rule. "It's a real violation against the security of Palestinians" Qureia told reporters after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy in Gaza City. Moussa Arafat, 65, was killed after a 30-minute gunbattle between the assailants and dozens of Arafat's bodyguards. The fighting with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles raged just a block from the headquarters of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service. Arafat's oldest son, Manhal, was kidnapped by the gunmen. The Popular Resistance Committees, a violent group made up largely of former members of the ruling Fatah movement, later claimed responsibility. The group said it killed Arafat, a cousin of the late Yasser Arafat, to punish him for alleged corruption after the Palestinian security forces had taken no action against him. Arafat, a cousin of the late leader Yasser Arafat, had been a target of previous assassination attempts and always travelled in a heavily guarded convoy, using an armoured limousine that once transported Yasser Arafat. Abbas fired Arafat, who had many enemies and was the target of frequent corruption allegations, several months ago as part of government reforms. Arafat was a founder of the Fatah movement and was a senior official in the Fatah Revolutionary Council, a top policy-making body. After he was fired as security chief, Arafat was given the considerably less influential job of military adviser to Abbas. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...