Ref: 16/2012
Date: 12 February 2012
Time: 12:30 GMT

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon competent authorities to open an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the death of Ahmed al-Zein, 10, from Beit Lahia, by drowning in a sewage water basin near the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip. PCHR reiterates its call for competent authorities to take protective measures around sewage basins which threaten the safety and security of Palestinians, especially children, living near sewage water basins in the Gaza Strip.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 18:00 on Saturday, 11 February 2012, crews from the civil defense recovered the body of Ahmed Abdul Menem Ibrahim al-Zein, 10, from Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip, from a sewage water basin in the east of the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip. Ahmed’s relatives reported to a PCHR fieldworker that at approximately 15:00 on Saturday, 11 February 2012, Ahmed went with five of his friends to hunt birds that gather near the sewage water basin in the east of the Bedouin Village. Approximately an hour later, the al-Zein family learnt that Ahmed fell into the sewage water basin. Ahmed’s relatives said that they headed to the sewage water basin and crews of the civil defense managed to find the body of Ahmed three hours after his falling into the sewage water basin.

PCHR notes that incidents of this kind occurred several times and believes that the recurrence of such incidents is the result of lack of effective protective measures around sewage water basins. In December 2011, two siblings died in a sewage water basin near Khan Yunis refugee camp. Additionally, the Bedouin Village in the north of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, was flooded on 27 March 2007. In this environmental disaster, five Palestinians from the Bedouin Village died and another 20 persons sustained injuries. Additionally, dozens of houses and public facilities sustained damage. It should be noted that PCHR paid a special attention to the issue of the sewage water basins located near the Bedouin Village before and after the environmental disaster. PCHR had warned of the risks threatening the lives of the residents of the Bedouin Village due to the presence of the mentioned sewage water basins and the leakage of waste water to the groundwater aquifer.

In light of the above, PCHR calls upon various concerned parties to open immediate investigations into the above incident, and to identify the party responsible for providing protective measures around the said basin which threatens the safety and security of Palestinians, especially children. PCHR calls upon these parties to declare the results of the investigations and to hold accountable those who are found responsible.