Field update

On Sunday evening, 10 March 2013, a
child, from Jabalya refugee camp, sustained a bullet wound to the head when her
sister was mishandled a pistol inside their house; her wounds were described as
critical.  Also, a young man from
al-Zawaida village in the central Gaza Strip, sustained wounds on Wednesday, 06
March 2013,  while mishandling the fuse
of an explosive device; his wounds were described as moderate.  These incidents are part of the state of
security chaos and misuse of weapons in the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to the investigations
conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately
21:00 on Saturday, 09 March 2013, 14 year-old Shorouq ‘Alaa Youssif ‘Awad, from
Jabalya refugee camp, was admitted into Kamal ‘Odwan Hospital in Beit Lahia,
northern Gaza Strip, with a bullet wound in the head.  Her wounds were described as critical and she
was immediately transferred to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for
treatment.  According to sources in the
Palestinian police, ‘Awad sustained a bullet wound that was mistakenly
unleashed from a pistol that her sister mishandled inside their house.  The pistol belongs to a family member who is
a police officer.

On 06 March 2013, Jihad ‘Attya
al-Majnoun (24), from al-Zawaida village in the central Gaza Strip, sustained
shrapnel wounds in the jaw, after an explosive device fuse that he mishandled
exploded.  At approximately 16:00,
al-Majnoun was transported to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.  His wounds were described as moderate and he
was transported to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza where he underwent surgery.  In his testimony to a PCHR fieldworker, al-Majnoun’s
father said that his son found the fuse in a vacant tract of land in the
surroundings of their neighborhood; he attempted to untie it with his mouth, so
the device exploded in his face.  He
added that the Palestinian police opened an investigation into the incident and
took the affidavit of his son’s friend who was accompanying him at the time of
the explosion.

PCHR considers these incidents as part
of the state of security chaos and misuse of weapons prevailing in the occupied
Palestinian territory, and calls upon the concerned authorities to take serious
measures to put an end to the proliferation of weapons, and protect the lives
of Palestinian civilians and their property.