Ref: 91/2023

Date: 31 August 2023

Time: 09:00 GMT

Two days ago, a citizen was killed after being shot with several bullets in events in Tulkarm refugee camp, north of the West Bank, where acts of violence and shooting broke out between Palestinian security officers and Palestinian gunmen.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls for investigating the circumstances and causes of the citizen’s death and the accompanying events, taking the legal proceedings and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

According to PCHR’s follow-up, at around 09:00 on Wednesday, 30 August 2023, clashes broke out between Palestinian young men and security officers after a joint force of the Palestinian security services removed iron barriers with barbed wires at the northern entrance to Tulkarm refugee camp and searched vehicles exiting the camp. As a result, clashes broke out between Palestinian gunmen and the Palestinian security forces at the Camp entrance where the security forces fired teargas canisters. Due to exchange of fire, ‘AbdulQader Mohammad Zaqdah (21) was wounded with a live bullet and taken to Martyr Dr. Thabet Thabet Government Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Afterwards, outraged young men set tires ablaze protesting his death.

The Security Services Spokesperson, Major General Talal Dweikat, stated that the security forces removed ” hazardous materials” from the camp after receiving complaints from citizens. After accomplishing their mission, “Gunmen had opened fire at the Tulkarm Governorate HQ, prompting security forces to intervene and take the necessary measures to restore order and prevent any violence acts that would threaten civil peace in Tulkarm”.