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Press Release

 The Israeli occupation forces willfully fire at Palestinian civilians

 Ref: 25/2001

Date: May 15, 2001

 Yesterday afternoon, Monday, May 14, 2001, after an armed Palestinian attempted to attack a post of the Israeli occupation forces in the north of Khan Yunis with a hand grenade, the Israeli forces opened fire indiscriminately on him and on a number of Palestinian civilians and their cars while waiting at a military roadblock of these forces.  The armed Palestinian and a Palestinian civilian were killed, and another seven bystander civilians were wounded.  According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli occupation forces used excessive force indiscriminately, even though they could have controlled the situation without causing casualties among Palestinian civilians.

 According to PCHR’s investigation, at approximately 16:45 local time, Palestinian civilian cars traveling from Khan Yunis to Gaza City were stopped at a roadblock of the Israeli occupation forces at Al-Matahen junction, which crosses a road linking between Gush Qatif settlement block in the west and the eastern border of the Gaza Strip.  Such roadblock is one of several roadblocks the Israeli occupation forces established during the past months to divide the Gaza Strip and restrict the movement of Palestinians, who are very often forced to wait for hours to travel between the south and north of the Strip.  The traffic light at the roadblock was red, while military vehicles of the Israeli occupation forces were crossing the junction traveling from Gush Qatif settlement block towards Kissufim Crossing at the eastern border of the Gaza Strip.  Approximately 12 minutes later, the traffic light became green and three Palestinian civilian cars were allowed to cross the junction.  Very soon, the traffic light turned to be red again, when a Palestinian truck was at the junction.  An Israeli soldier shouted on the truck’s driver to travel back and he and other drivers did.  Then, a military jeep of the Israeli occupation forces, behind which a number of settler cars traveled, crossed the junction. 

 According to an eyewitness, who was traveling by his civilian car with a relative of him, while he was driving his car back, he saw in his car’s mirror a young man getting out of a taxi behind, carrying a hand grenade and a bag.  He saw the young man moving towards Israeli occupation soldiers, positioned at an observation tower, and then he attacked the tower with the grenade.  The grenade hit the window of the tower and fell onto the ground before it exploded.  Then, the young men got another grenade out of his bag, but the Israeli soldiers opened fire on him.  He was instantly killed.  The second grenade fell approximately 4 meters away from the observation tower.  Nevertheless, the Israeli soldiers continued to shoot.  The eyewitness added that he got out of his car, ran and sheltered behind a nearby concrete block.  His relative and a taxi driver and another traveler followed him.  The eyewitness added that he saw another taxi driver getting out of his car and moving towards them to have a shelter behind the concrete block, but the Israeli occupation soldiers fired at him.  He fell down, bleeding from the mouth and the back.  Live bullets also hit some Palestinian cars.  Furthermore, the four Palestinian civilians who sheltered behind the concrete block and another three ones were wounded. 

 Approximately 30 minutes passed without the Israeli occupation forces having offered help to the wounded.  Then, a tank accompanied by some Israeli soldiers came to the junction.  Soldiers ordered the wounded to lie down with their faces to the ground and their hands extended straight.  A jeep of the Israeli occupation forces moved towards the wounded taxi driver who lay motionless.  Then, the jeep drove back and the Israeli occupation forces allowed eight Palestinian ambulances, which were waiting approximately 250m away from the roadblock, to come and evacuate the wounded to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis.  The wounded taxi driver soon died.  The body of the armed young man was kept by the Israeli occupation forces for approximately two hours.  Then, it was handed to the Palestinian side at the military liaison office.  The body was also transferred to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis.

 Later, the armed Palestinian was identified as being ‘Arafat Talal Abu Kweik, 28, from Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza.  He was killed with several live bullets throughout the body.  He also had burns throughout the body resulted from the explosion of the second grenade.  The taxi driver was identified as being Mohammed Yousef Mousa El-Qassas, 26, from Gaza.  He was killed with several live bullets in the head, the abdomen, the right hand and the left leg.  He was a bystander.  In addition, seven Palestinian civilians were wounded as follows:

       1)         Rawhi Mohammed El-Hour, 45, from Khan Yunis, seriously wounded with a live bullet in the pelvis;

       2)         Ahmed Zuhair El-Shawish, 20, from Gaza, wounded with shrapnel of live bullets in the head and the right shoulder and with a live bullet in the right hand;

       3)         Ayman Hamdi El-Batash, 28, from Gaza, wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh;

       4)         Yousef ‘Abdel-Rahman Wadi, 28, from Beit Lahia, wounded with shrapnel in the right shoulder and the left upper arm and leg;

       5)         Munir Mohammed El-‘Abid, 26, from Beit Lahia, wounded with a live bullet in the thighs;

       6)         Hussam Rashed Sh’ath, 24, wounded with shrapnel in the neck; and

       7)         Maher ‘Abdel-Sattar Nejem, 22, from Gaza, wounded with two live bullets in the left thigh.

 In light of investigation in the incidents and testimonies of eyewitnesses, PCHR asserts the following:

       1)         The Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians in the place of the incident indiscriminately and did not stop even when it was absolutely clear that the armed young man was killed and shooting was then unjustifiable.

       2)         Not only did the Israeli occupation forces failed to offer help to the wounded, but they also prevented Palestinian ambulances from evacuating them for approximately 30 minutes.

       3)         PCHR sees firing by armed Palestinians at the Israeli occupation forces in situations that certainly endanger the lives of Palestinian civilians as a matter of deep concern.  PCHR adds its voice to the Palestinian National Authority and Palestinian political factions in calling for the avoidance of gunfire in circumstances that may endanger the safety of Palestinian civilians, although PCHR is thoroughly convinced that Palestinian civilians are not immune to killing and shelling by the Israeli occupation forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories even when they are inside their homes