Ref: 19/2007

Date: 25 March 2007

Time: 13:00 GMT

PCHR Condemns Continued Breaches on the Rule of Law

PCHR is extremely concerned over the continuation of acts of violence and breaches of the rule of law. These acts include the renewal of clashes between members of Fatah and Hamas, use of weapons in personal and clan disputes, and other forms of internal violence perpetrated despite the state of calm reached after the Mecca Agreement last month, and the formation of the National Unity Government 10 days ago. The Centre asks as to who stands behind these acts if there is political agreement between the involved parties.

Over the past 3 days, the Gaza Strip witnessed a series of acts of violence and breaches of the rule of law. As a result, three people, including a baby boy, were killed, sixteen were injured, and four kidnapped. In addition, a real estate office was blown up; an assault was carried out against a cultural organization; and two shops and a home were set on fire.

PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that on Thursday, 22 March 2007, clashes between members of Fatah and Hamas renewed in the northern Gaza Strip. At approximately 22:30, gunment fired at several people in front of their homes near Kamal Odwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. The shooting came at a state of high tension between members of Fatah and Hamas. The shooting resulted in the death of Hasan Mohammad Abu Nada (two and half years old) and the injury of his father Mohammad (29) with a bullet in the left hand. The child’s grandmother, Amna Abdel Hamid Abu Nada (60), was seriously injured by a bullet in the abdomen. Also, Mujahed Fayez Abu El-Jedyan (23) was injured by a bullet in the left foot.

In a related incident at approximately 00:45 on Friday (23 March 2007), gunmen who erected a roadblock at Abu Sharekh intersection kidnapped the policeman Nahed Hussein El-Ajjouri (41, from Jabalia refugee camp). They took him to an undisclosed location. He was abducted for 4 hours, and was subjected to severe beating and interrogation by his abductors. He was released at approximately 4:10 on the same day.

At approximately 2:00, unknown assailants burned a plumping equipment store belonging to Ahmad Yousef El-M’nierawi in the Salatin Area in Beit Lahia. The store was completely burned with all the merchandize inside. The attack came after gunmen burned El-M’nierawi’s house in Beit Lahia at approximately 16:00 on Thursday during the clashes between Fatah and Hamas members. It is noted that at approximately 17:00, Hamas gunmen broke into a furniture store belonging to Adnad El-Madhoun near Falouja School in Jabalia. They forced the workers out, and set it on fire. When fire trucks came to extinguish the fire, they prevented them. The store was completely burned.

At approximately 12:00 on Friday, gunmen from Srour clan intercepted Awad Abdel Jalil Awad (51) and his two sons Ala (27) and Emad (12) in Beit Lahia as they were heading to Friday prayers. The gunmen beat them and fired at them. The father was injured by a bullet in the left thigh. Ala was injured by a bullet in the feet, and Emad was injured by shrapnel in the legs and other parts of the body. It is noted that an old clan dispute was renewed after the killing of Rami Srour during clashes between Fatah and Hamas over the previous few days.

At approximately 18:45, the body of Arafa Fawzi Nofal (27) was found in Zaitoon Quarter in Gaza City. The body bore signs of torture and was riddled with several bullets. Nofal was kidnapped by an armed group at approximately 11:30 on Friday after he left his work in the Preventive Security Apparatus in Tal El-Hawa Quarter in Gaza City.

At approximately 11:30 in the morning, masked gunmen in a vehicle kidnapped Captain Nabil Khamis Meqdad (45) near the Ministry of Interior building in Tal El-Hawa Quarter in Gaza City. And at approximately 18:00, gunmen in two vehicles kidnapped another Preventive Security operative, Ehab Abdallah Hassouna (21) from Sheikh Ejleen area in Gaza City. At approximately 23:30, both were released near Imam Shaf’i Mosque in Zaitoon Quarter in Gaza City as part of an agreement between Fatah and Hamas. The abductees bore severe torture marks, and were taken to hospital for treatment.

In other incidents, the Gaza Strip witnessed other incidents of security chaos motivated by clan disputes and attacks on public institutions.

PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 16:00 on Thursday, 22 March 2007, Abdel El-Mawla Ayman Fayeq (17, from El-Bureij refugee camp) was admitted to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah. He was suffering from shrapnel wounds throughout his body. The wounds were caused by the accidental detonation of an explosive device he mishandled. Medical sources indicated that his left hand was amputated.

At approximately 19:00 on Thursday, Mahmoud Othman Taleb (21) from Sheikh Radwan Quarter in Gaza City was admitted to Shifa Hospital in the city. He was suffering from moderate gunshot wounds in the feet. Gunmen shot him near the Ophthalmic Hospital in the city in a clan-motivated dispute.

At approximately 1:15 on Friday, 23 March 2007, gunmen armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades stormed the “Cultural Association for the Protection of Heritage” in Beit Lahia. They broke the front door and inner doors, and destroyed musical instruments, music books, and art works.

At approximately 19:00 on Friday, the body of Mohammad Ali Eishan (50, from Beach Camp) was found near the Salatin cemetery in Beit Lahia. He was killed by several bullets to the head and body. The body was taken to Kamal Odwan Hospital in Jabalia. It is noted the Eishan was abducted by gunmen as he returned home from work two hours before his body was found. It is noted that the victim was previously detained for suspicion of collaboration with Israeli security services and for unethical conduct.

At approximately 23:30 on Friday, unknown assailants detonated an explosive device in front of the Jenin real estate office in Daraj Quarter in Gaza City. The office owner is Nabil Matar El-Kafarna (43) from Beit Hanoun. The explosion shook the area, and caused extensive damages to the entrance of the office. In addition, the windows were destroyed. No injuries were reported.

At approximately 19:00 on Saturday, 24 March 2007, ten gunmen stormed the Deir El-Balah Central Pharmacy and kidnapped Khaled El-Masri. He was released an hour later after the abductors made sure that he is not related to El-Masri clan in Khan Yunis.

At approximately 19:00 on Saturday, masked gunmen intercepted Sami Salam Arafat (25), a Preventive Security operative in Khan Yunis, and abducted him to an unknown location in the city. They released him in Qiezan El-Najjar area after an hour and half. He was beaten during his abduction. His family came and put him in an ambulance to transfer him to a hospital. Shots were fired at the convoy in Bani Suheila. Seven people were injured, one of them seriously.

At approximately 19:30 on Saturday, unknown gunmen in a car fired at Mahmoud Omar El-Baghdadai (21, from El-Bureij refugee camp), who works in the Presidential Guard. The shooting took place near Nuseirat Housing Buildings near Salah El-Deen Street in the center of the Gaza Strip. He was taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where his injury was listed as moderate.

PCHR strongly condemns these bloody acts that plague the OPT despite the Mecca Agreement and the formation of a National Unity Government, and:

–         Calls upon the PNA, the President and Government, to work seriously to put an end to security chaos acts that plague the OPT;

–         Calls for putting an end to all forms of militancy in public and residential areas, and to allow the Police to work to restore and uphold order;

–         Demands the formation of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate all these acts, and to take legal action against the perpetrators regardless of their identity or affiliation;

–         Calls upon all political parties to exert all possible effort to contain the tension between Fatah and Hamas, and to ensure their immediate return to dialogue; and

–         Calls upon the PNA to work to reform the security forces on professional basis, and unify them under one central command as a law-enforcement body working to uphold the safety and security of Palestinians. The Centre calls for keeping these security forces out of politics and any political dispute or conflict.