Mere Rhetoric: Palestinian Civil Society Watch - MR Has Some Questions About Yesterday's School Shooting In Gaza

Yesterday we talked about that attack on an elementary school in Gaza. Quick refresher: 70 AQ-linked Muslims jihadists stormed an elementary school, throwing bombs and trying to kill little children. A quick refresher, with some extra information:

Witnesses told The Jerusalem Post that at least 70 Muslim fundamentalists participated in the attack on the Omariya School, where UNRWA and PA officials were attending a celebration... Another witness said the protesters threw a number of hand grenades and opened fire with automatic rifles as participants prepared to leave the school premises. "It was a large organized attack on the elementary school," he said. "This is something unprecedented. It's a miracle that many people were not killed."

(1) The article we linked to yesterday said that a gun battle erupted and the jihadists were pushed away. Which brings up our main question: what the hell was that much firepower doing at an elementary school? We don't mean this in a "Hamas is stashing guns in elementary schools" kind of way, although that happens all the time. We assume that there were simply enough guards at the school to push the attackers away. But that's exactly our question: what on earth is compelling the Palestinians to post that many guards at an elementary school? Inside Israel, schools have guards to prevent Palestinian terrorists from coming in - but those are mostly guys who sit at the entrance looking for suicide bombers. Palestinians shouldn't even have that problem. And they can't be protecting against a surprise Israeli invasion - when Israel gets around to cleaning out Gaza, they'll politely let the Palestinians know in advance and schools will be closed. So has the situation in Gaza gotten so bad that Palestinians are now posting guards at schools? And if so, shouldn't more people be talking about this?

(2) The attackers were from the same AQ-linked jihadists who have been blowing up Internet cafes, attacking women, and generally trying to enforce sharia in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is having real trouble dealing with them, but they've adopted a new tactic. You know what it is? You know what tactic Hamas is using to try to end the wave of Islamic terrorism that's spreading through Gaza? They're engaging in pin-point targeted assassinations and hitting other civilians in the process:

Hamas, on the other hand, is said to be behind the killing of a number of Salafi figures. The most recent victim was Adnan Manasreh, 30, a prominent Salafis who was gunned down as he walked out of a mosque in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City in March. Two of his relatives were wounded in the attack. Tensions between the Salafis and Hamas have been mounting in the Strip ever since Ayman Zawahiri, the No. 2 in al-Qaida, accused Hamas of abandoning its ideology and "selling out" to Israel and the US... Salah Abu Khatlah, a Fatah operative in Rafah... accused radical Islamic groups of waging a campaign of terror and intimidation against Palestinians.

How precious is that?

(4) The attack on the elementary school happened because the jihadists said that little girls and boys were dancing together. This, naturally, is a killing offense. Why are Palestinians pissed off about the attack? JPost gets quotes from two separate Palestinians on this question - and they're pissed because apparently there wasn't any dancing. The jihadists got it wrong - the girls and boys were not being mixed. But if there actually was dancing at the celebration? Well, that might be different. Charming

References:
* PA officials: al-Qaida attacked school [JPost]

Previously:
* Palestinian Civil Society Not Doing Well
* Palestinian Civil Society Watch I - We're Not Sure About This 'Election' Thing
* Palestinian Civil Society Watch II - Why Can't Jailed Terrorists Be Ministers Too?