Ref: 98/2003

On Thursday afternoon, 21 August 2003, Israeli
occupying forces committed a new extra-judicial assassination, which left dead
a prominent leader of the Hamas movement, Isma’il Abu Shanab and 2 of his
bodyguards.  In addition, 19 passing
Palestinian civilians were wounded. PCHR condemns this latest extrajudicial
assignation carried out by Israeli force as an indiscriminate use of force
amounting to a war crime perpetrated against Palestinian civilians. 

At approximately 13:15, Israeli helicopter gunships
launched 5 missiles at a civilian car that was traveling on UNRWA Vocational
Training Center Street opposite to the headquarters of the Gaza Governorate, a
densely populated area in Gaza City.  The
missile destroyed the car.  Ambulances
and rescue teams arrived on the scene shortly after the attack. They extracted
3 bodies from the car and transferred them to Shifa’ Hospital in Gaza
City.  In addition, 19 passing
Palestinian civilians were wounded. 

Later, there were reports that Isma’il Hassan Abu
Shanab, 53, from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, a prominent leader of
the Hamas movement and 2 of his bodyguards had been traveling in the targeted
car.  The 2 bodyguards have been
identified as Mo’men Mohammed Baroud, 24, from al-Shati refugee camp and Hani
Majed Abu al-‘Amrain, 23, from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

At the time of the attack, Israeli warplanes were
flying over Gaza City, apparently to drown out the sounds of the approaching
helicopter gunships.  Israeli occupying
forces have used this method in several assassination attempts in the past. 

PCHR strongly condemns this latest assassination
and reiterates its call for the international community and the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to immediately
intervene to stop violations of human rights and international humanitarian law
perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces.