Last Thursday,
unknown assailants detonated an explosive device in the Rafah
Service Club in near Al-Awda Square in the center of the city of
Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The explosion targeted Yabous
Benevolent Society, causing extensive damage to the Society office
and to the offices of neighboring organizations as well as the Club
headquarters. This attack is a continuation of the security chaos
plaguing the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
PCHR’s preliminary
investigation and the statements of the Yabous Society and Rafah
Service Club officials indicate that at approximately 1:50 on
Thursday, 10 July, a huge explosion rocked the center of Rafah in
the southern Gaza Strip. The explosion targeted the Yabous
Benevolent Society and a building belonging to the Rafah Service
Club near Al-Awda Square in the center of the city. The explosion
caused extensive damages to the Yabous Society office, to the
building, and to the offices of other organizations in the same
building.
In the morning, the
director of the Yabous Society submitted an official complaint in
the Rafah Police Station. The Police spokesman, Islam Shehwan,
stated that the Police have opened an investigation into the attack;
and that several suspects are being questioned.
On Sunday morning
(13 July), PCHR Director, Raji Sourani, visited the scene of the
explosion in Rafah, and held a joint press conference with the
Yabous Society and Rafah Service Club officials. He condemned the
attack as a violation of the right to form associations, noting that
it is a continuation of the security chaos plaguing the OPT.
PCHR strongly
condemns the recurrence of these attacks; and calls upon the
relevant authorities to take the necessary steps to prosecute the
perpetrators.
