Gazan responsible for murder of Italian activist killed fighting alongside ISIS

Mahmoud Al-Salfiti, who was active in al-Qaida, was convicted along with others for the kidnapping and murder of Italian activist and journalist Vittorio Arrigoni in 2011.

By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA
Updated: NOVEMBER 28, 2015 20:55
Mahmoud al-Salfit (photo credit: ISLAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA)
Mahmoud al-Salfit
(photo credit: ISLAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA)
A Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, who was convicted for the murder of activist Vittorio Arrigoni in 2011, was killed on Saturday fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq, according to Palestinian media sources in the Gaza Strip and sites affiliated with the terrorist organization.
The Palestinian man, Mahmoud al-Salfiti, escaped from the Gaza Strip to join ISIS on June 6 of this year after going on leave from prison to visit his family for the month of Ramadan. Al-Salfiti was sentenced to life in prison in September of 2012, although his sentence was shortened to only 15 years.
Al-Salfiti, who was active in al-Qaida, was convicted along with others for the kidnapping and murder of Italian activist and journalist Vittorio Arrigoni in April 2011. His body was later discovered in an abandoned house in Gaza City.
Arrigoni, who had been living in the Gaza Strip for three years, was the first foreign national to be kidnapped and murdered under Hamas.
Al-Salfiti's picture was published on several Jihadist sites in the Gaza Strip, and on Islamic State social media sites. The caption above his photo read: "Mahmoud al-Salfiti killed the infidel Italian Arrigoni, and was arrested by Hamas and imprisoned by them. Five months ago he managed to escape from prison and emigrate to the Islamic state, until he fell as a martyr in the battlefield."