Security Chaos and Misuse of Weapons
Misuse of Weapons by Armed Groups and Security Personnel
Field Updates
12 April 2009
Child and Family Care Center in Khan Younis Set Alight by Unknown Persons
Early this morning, unknown gunmen set alight the Child and Family Care Center in al-Fukhari Village east of Khan Younis. The Center was established by the Canaan Institute of New Pedagogy in cooperation with the al-Fukhari Association for Rural Development. This is the second time in two days that the Center has been attacked. This incident is part of the security chaos currently plaguing the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) investigations indicate that, at approximately 03:00am on 12 April 2009, a number of masked gunmen set fire to tents belonging to the Child and Family Care Center. During the attack the gunmen detained the Center’s security guard in a nearby field. Mr. Al-Bahdari, director of the Center, stated that fire destroyed the six plastic tents which formed the Center, along with their contents and equipment. The Child and Family Care Center had been subject to a similar attack in the early morning of Saturday, 11 April 2009.
The Child and Family Care Center is one of five established by the Canaan Institute of New Pedagogy in cooperation with different benevolent associations across the Gaza Strip. These centers aim to help and support children who live in areas affected by the recent Israeli offensive.
PCHR strongly condemns the attack on the Child and Family Care Center, noting that this attack constitutes part of the continuing security chaos plaguing the occupied Palestinian territory.
PCHR demands that the Prosecutor General of the Palestinian National Authority open an investigation into this – and all such attacks – so that the perpetrators may be brought to justice