Palestinian Killed and His Brother Wounded in Armed Family Dispute in Rafah

Field update

1 April 2022

On Thursday, 31 March 2022, a Palestinian was killed and his brother was wounded after being shot during a family dispute in an incident resulting from the misuse of weapons and assault on rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to PCHR investigations, at approximately 16:20 on Thursday, 31 March 2022, a family dispute between Hassan and al-Dabary families in al-Shoka town, eastern Rafah, escalated to include use of firearms. As a result, Mousa Selmi Mohammed Bin Hassan (41) was killed after he sustained a live bullet wound in the abdomen; his brother, Hesham (31), sustained a live bullet wound in the pelvis and was transported from Abul-Najar Hospital in Rafah to the Gaza European hospital in Khan Younis due to his critical condition. They were both shot inside al-Dabary family’s home as they entered while chasing to members of al-Dabary family. The brothers were trying to catch the person and beat him with clubs as they had been involved in a previous altercation.

In a press statement on the Ministry of Interior’s website, the Palestinian police announced the death of Mousa Selmi Bin Hassan (41), and that another was critically wounded during a family dispute that included use of live ammunition in eastern Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. A police force arrived at the scene, controlled the situation, and started an investigation.

PCHR expresses its concern over the recurrence of such incidents and denounces the use of firearms in personal and intrafamily disputes; a matter which threatens the right to life, the rule of law, and civil peace.

PCHR demands concerned authorities take serious steps to end the state of weapons proliferation, and to impose the rule of law, in order to protect social and civil peace, particularly in light of the recent increase of murder crimes in the oPt.