Field Update 

Last Friday, a civilian was killed after members of an armed group fired live bullets at him inside a training site, west of Rafah. Moreover, a child was severely wounded due to mishandling a weapon inside his house in Jabalia refugee camp. These two incidents are part of the state of proliferation of weapons and an assault on the rule of law plaguing in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 08:00 on Friday, 15 April 2016, two members of an armed group fired two live bullets from a Kalashnikov to warn 3 civilians, one of whom was carrying a hunting rifle, when the civilians entered the Mujahideen Brigades training site, northwest of Rafah. One of the bullets hit a rock and then ricocheted towards the face of Abdul Hamid Suliaman Kuhail (19), from Gaza City, who was carrying the hunting rifle. Soon after, Kuhail was dead as a result.

The Palestinian police mentioned that they opened an investigation in the incident and the Attorney General and criminal experts inspected the scene. The two armed members were arrested pending investigation. Moreover, Kuhail’s corpse was transferred to the Forensic Department in Gaza city. The initial report stated that there were traces of a bullet that entered the forehead and exited the back of the head.

In a separate incident, at approximately 16:30 on the same day, A. K. (11) was hit with two live bullets to his right thigh and pelvis. The bullets were unleashed from a firearm that he was playing with inside his house in Jabalia refugee camp. As a result, the child was transferred to the Indonesian Hospital in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip. Medical sources classified his injury as serious due to a fracture in the pelvis.

According to field investigations and statements of the Palestinian police, the aforementioned child was playing with a firearm belonging to his brother who is a member of a Palestinian armed group.

PCHR condemns these two incidents that are part of the state of proliferation of weapons and assault on the rule of law in the oPt. Moreover, PCHR demands the competent authorities to take the necessary measures to save and secure the civilians’ lives.