Ref: 134/2012
Date: 21 November 2012
Time: 10:00 GMT

At the climax of the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip and the crimes committed against the Palestinian civilian population, we were extremely shocked by the extra-judicial killing of 6 Palestinians by gunmen on Tuesday, 20 November 2012, for alleged collaboration with Israeli Occupation Forces.

According to information available to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 16:00 on Tuesday, 20 November 2012, gunmen who were traveling in two cars and on a number of motorcycles arrived at the intersection located near Bahloul fuel station in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City. They took 6 persons out of the cars and shot them dead. Bodies of a number of them were maltreated, and gunmen were seen dragging the body of one of them by a motorcycle in the street. Earlier, on Friday, 16 November 2012, another person was killed in similar circumstances.

PCHR learnt that all those persons had previously been detained by the Palestinian Authority being accused of collaboration with Israeli forces.

We condemn these crimes and call upon the government and relevant authorities to act to stop such crimes, and hold accountable any person who carries out extra-judicial killings, especially in the current situation, in which it is crucial to maintain internal security, ensure respect for the rule of law, and avoid chaos.

Searching for and prosecuting collaborators for betraying their people and homeland is a right and duty of the Palestinian Authority, but this must be done in the framework of the rule of law and respect for human rights, and ensuring the suspects’ legal rights, including the right to fair trials.

PCHR welcomes statements by the Deputy Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau, Mousa Abu Marzouq, on his Facebook account, rejecting such actions and calling for the perpetrators to be held accountable. Abu Marzouq emphasized that “people may be punished only through the law and legal mechanisms.” He added that “the way these collaborators were killed is absolutely unacceptable, those who are found responsible must be held accountable and such actions must not be recurred.”

Deviation from these standards will push us towards a state of chaos, and will take the world’s attention away from the reality of crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.