Field Update

Eight civilians were wounded
yesterday evening by bullets and white arms in a familial dispute in al-Sheikh
Radwan neighborhood in the northwest of Gaza city . One of the wounded sustained serious wounds
by a bullet into the abdomen. This
incident is part of the state of security chaos and misuse of weapons plaguing
the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). 

According to investigations
conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately
17:00 on Wednesday, 11 August 2010,
a dispute erupted between the families of Matar and
Salha near the bridge area in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the northwest of
Gaza city. The parties to the dispute
used weapons, sticks and sharp tools. Eight civilians, including members of the Matar family and locals, sustained
wounds as a result. One of the wounded
sustained serious wounds. The wounded
who were transferred to hospitals are:

1. Eyad Reyadh Matar, 33, wounded by a bullet to the thigh;

2. Ahmed Abed Matar, 63, wounded by a bullet to the right foot,
and sustained wounds in the back and the back part of the neck by a sharp tool;

3. Suheil Ahmed Matar, 36, wounded by a sharp tool to the back
and the head;

4. Khaled Mohammed Matar, 29, wounded by a sharp tool to the
face;

5. Mohammed Munir al-Jamaleh, 19, seriously wounded by a bullet
to the abdomen;

6. Kamal Hussein al-Kilani, 20, wounded by shrapnel to the
feet;

7. Isam Ibrahim al-Nawajha, 59, wounded by shrapnel to the
feet; and

8. Anas Ahmed Hamada, 19, wounded by shrapnel to the feet. 

The Palestinian police arrived to
the scene and arrested members of the two disputing families and opened an investigation
into the incident. 

PCHR strongly condemns the use of
weapons in familial disputes and notes that this incident is part of the state
of security chaos and misuse of weapons plaguing the OPT. PCHR calls upon the Office of the Attorney General
to open investigations into this incident and to bring perpetrators to
justice.