On Thursday, 21 August 2008, a Palestinian was killed in the
southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis by an aimless gunshot while
gunmen were training in a nearby place. In the same context, on
Friday, 22 August 2008, a child was wounded in similar circumstances
in Rafah. These incidents are part of the state of security chaos
prevailing in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately
16:30 on Thursday, 21 August 2008, Ahmed Mousa al-Qedra, 37, from
Khan Yunis, was wounded by an aimless gunshot to the chest when he
was in front of his shop of vegetables in al-Amal neighborhood in
the west of the town. He was hospitalized, but medical efforts to
save his life failed. According to eyewitnesses, sounds of shooting
were heard in a space area where armed groups were conducting
military training to the west of al-Amal neighborhood.
The spokesman of the police, Islam Shahwan, stated to PCHR that the
police initiated an investigation into the incident and called upon
armed groups to conduct their military training away from populated
areas.
In the same context, at approximately 16:00 on Friday, 22 August
2008, 4-year-old Saleh ‘Alaa’ al-Din al-Mudallal, from Tal al-Sultan
neighborhood in the west of Rafah, was seriously wounded by a
gunshot to the back from an unknown sources, when he was playing
together with other children in a neighbor’s house. According to the
child’s father, sounds of shooting were heard in a training site of
Palestinian armed groups near the house.
PCHR is gravely concerned over such attacks that have caused
casualties among Palestinian civilians, and which are part of the
state of security chaos and misuse of weapons prevailing in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR calls upon authorized bodies to
investigate these latest attacks and bring the perpetrators to
justice. PCHR further calls upon Palestinian armed groups to conduct
their military training away from civilian populated areas to avoid
civilian casualties.
