Field Update

On
Thursday morning, 27 January 2011, the office of the Palestinian civil liaison
of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, located near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in
the northern Gaza Strip, was stormed and robbed. This attack is part of the state of security
chaos and proliferation of weapons prevailing in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory.

According to
investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center of Human Rights (PCHR) and
the statement of Mr. Maher Abu al-‘Ouf, the director of the office, at
approximately 07:00 on Thursday, 27 January 2011, the staff went to the office,
which is located nearly 800 meters away from Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, for
their daily work. When they arrived,
they found that the office’s door was open as its lock had been broken. After checking the office, the staff found
that a television set, a satellite receiver and a mobile phone had been stolen,
and a photocopier and the store of the office were damaged. Abu al-‘Ouf stated that this attack had been
the 6^th of its kind since 2007, and he had never been informed by
official bodies that the perpetrators had been arrested. 

The Palestinian
police arrived at the scene and initiated an investigation.

It is worth
noting that the office of the Palestinian liaison is managed by the Ministry of
Civil Affairs in the Ramallah government. It is located to the north of a checkpoint of the Palestinian police of
the Gaza government.

PCHR condemns
this attack, which is part of the state of the security chaos prevailing in the
OPT, and calls upon the government in Gaza to take necessary measures to stop
such attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.