Kidnapped Italian activist found dead in Gaza Strip

Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni Vittorio Arrigoni was seized on Thursday morning by a radical group seeking the release of their leader, who was arrested last month. Hamas said Arrigoni was found hanged, after police received a tip-off. He was the first foreigner kidnapped in Gaza since BBC journalist Alan Johnston was snatched in 2007. At least one person has been arrested, and others are being sought, a Hamas official said. Arrigoni had been dead for several hours when he was found, the official added. Arrigoni, 36, was seized by Salafist radicals, who have often been in conflict with Hamas, the BBC's Gaza correspondent Jon Donnison says. They consider Hamas, an Islamist movement itself, too moderate, our correspondent says.
The Salafists had threatened to execute Arrigoni unless several prisoners, including their leader, Sheikh Abu Walid al-Maqdasi, were released. Sheikh Maqdasi was arrested by Hamas police last month in Gaza City. In the video posted on YouTube, Arrigoni appeared to have been beaten and his eyes were covered with thick black tape. A caption on the video read: "The Italian hostage entered our land only to spread corruption." The video called Italy "the infidel state". Arrigoni was a member of the International Solidarity Movement and had been in Gaza for several years. Hamas had been credited with eliminating the threat of kidnapping in Gaza until his abduction.

From BBC