There's a ghoul on the loose!

The Associated Press reports on Israel's failed attempt today to exterminate the leadership of Hamas:

an Israeli warplane dropped a bomb through the window of a third-story apartment where top Hamas leaders had assembled to plan more attacks, Israeli officials said.

Yassin was slightly wounded in his right hand, and 15 people were also hurt. Deif, the top fugitive, survived Israel's third attempt on his life; his assistant, Adnan Al-Ghoul, also got away, Israeli security officials said

Interestingly enough, the word ghoul is of Arabic origin. According to my Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, the word ghoul[ غول], whose Arabic spelling is identical to that of the last name of the escaped man, means:

a desert demon appearing in ever varying shapes (m. and f.); evil demon; monster; oger; (f.) witch

The noun ghoul is from the same root as a verb which translates as

to take (away) unawares, snatch, seize, grab; to destroy; to assassinate, murder

In addition to Adnan al-Ghoul, we are also familiar with former Hamas "activist" Muhammad al-Ghoul who murdered 19 people when he blew himself up on a Jerusalem bus last year.

This Halloween, when you think of ghouls and ghoulishness, think of Hamas!

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 06, 2003 02:25 PM