Arrigoni's body leaves Gaza

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The body of Italian peace activist and Palestine supporter, Vittorio Arrigoni, has left Gaza forever. No one in Gaza would have imagined that such a painful crime could be committed against a Palestine solidarity activist; individuals who come to the besieged Strip to stand in solidarity with its people against the siege; who support farmers on the borders and who go out with fishermen; who are detained by the Israeli occupation and who are sometimes wounded and killed.

Arrigoni was deeply loved and respected by everyone in Gaza and was one of the best known foreign solidarity activists. His body left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing conveyed by an official funeral procession which was followed by large crowds of people who loved him.

The interior ministry continues to carry out search operations for the criminals who committed this crime. It announced the arrest of two individuals from an ideologically deviant gang directly linked to the murder and are currently looking for three others who are thought to have actually committed the murder. One of the suspects is believed to be of Jordanian nationality.

The Palestinian people, national forces and various organisations have expressed deep indignation over this heinous crime and have stressed that what has happened has no connection to the ethics and traditions of the Palestinian people. Demands have been made for Gaza’s interior ministry to bring the perpetrators to account and to punish them severely.

MEMO Photographer: Mohammed Asad