Security Chaos and Proliferation of Weapons
Conflicts among Armed Groups or with Security Services
Field Update
18 October 2006
A Palestinian Dies from a Previous Wound and 3 Others Wounded in Armed Clashes in the West Bank and Gaza
At approximately 22:30 on Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 3 unknown gunmen traveling in a civilian car fired at Sa’ad Maher al-Kharraz, 21, from Nablus, when he was walking with two of his colleagues near al-Rawda Mosque in Rafidya neighborhood in Nablus. He was wounded by two live bullets to the leg. Al-Kharraz is a student at an-Najah National University in Nablus and a member of the Islamic Bloc.
Earlier, at approximately 20:50, medical sources at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City declared that Ahmed Khader Muhsen, 25, a police officer from al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, died from a wound he sustained near Shifa Hospital on 2 October 2006, when he was participating in the funeral procession of one of his relatives. Armed clashes erupted between the mourners and members of the Executive Force of the Ministry of Interior, during which Muhsen was wounded.
At approximately 21:00 on Monday, 16 October 2006, 8 gunmen traveling a microbus kidnapped Ahmed Zaqqout, 35, a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, when he was near his house in Block 8 in Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. They took him to an unknown destination. The kidnappers released Zqqout later near the headquarters of the Palestinian General Security Service in the northwest of Gaza City, after they had fired at him from a pistol. He was wounded by two live bullets to the left foot.
Earlier, at approximately 18:00, a number of members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah movement, fired at Kamal Sofian Abu al-Jedian, 24, a member of the Executive Force, who was with his colleagues guarding Kamal ‘Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. He was wounded by a live bullet to the back.
PCHR is increasingly concerned over the escalation in the use of weapons by Palestinian armed groups, which constitute a continuation of the state of security chaos in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian National Authority, represented by the Attorney-General to investigate such crimes and bring their perpetrators to justice.
