Palestinians rally to mourn kidnapped Italian activist murdered by extremists

"Hamas is expected to launch a crackdown on Islamic extremists in Gaza after the murder of an Italian peace activist who was strangled shortly after being kidnapped. Vittorio Arrigoni, 36, was killed on Thursday by the Tawheed and Jihad group, one of several extremist Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip. About 2,000 people attended a rally to honour him yesterday. His abduction is thought to have been an attempt to force Hamas to release the group's leader, Sheikh Abu Walid-al-Maqdas, a Jordanian Palestinian who was arrested last month. Tawheed and Jihad later claimed it was not responsible for the murder. Reports suggested Hamas police found his body on a mattress in an empty Gaza City apartment"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/italian-peace-activist-murdered-gaza