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| PCHR Palestinian Centre for Human Rights PRESS RELEASE |
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Ref: 50/2005
Date: 09 April 2005
Time: 11:00 GMT
PCHR Remains Concerned for Continuous Misuse of Weapons: 3 Palestinians Killed in Less Than 24 Hours
PCHR is deeply concerned by the deaths of two Palestinians on Friday, 8 April 2005 in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip, resulting from the misuse of weapons in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). PCHR reiterates its call for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to take necessary measures to end this phenomenon which threatens the safety and security of Palestinian civilians.
According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 14:30 on Friday, 8 April 2005, the Palestinian police discovered the body of Hatem Ragheb Salem al-Durra, 26, from al-Nasser neighborhood in Gaza City, in an uninhabited flat in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in the south of the city. According to security and medical sources the victim had been hit to the head by a sharp tool. He disappeared since Thursday evening, 7 April 2005. According to his family, they searched for him and learnt that he traveled in his car with a young man from the al-Hatu family to Rafah. The family informed the police. The police investigated the incident and were finally able to find the victim’s body. The police also arrested the alleged murderer, who confessed that he killed al-Durra and stole and sold his car and mobile phone.
At approximately 21:15 on the same day, five armed persons intercepted a car, in which 4 Palestinian civilians – two brothers and their fiancées – were traveling towards Beit Lahia. One of those armed persons opened fire at the front of the car. One of the women, 20-year-old Yusra Jamal Saleh al-‘Azzami, was killed by a live bullet in the head. Then, the armed persons severely beat the other occupants of the car, injuring them. They stole the car and escaped. Later, Palestinian security services were able to capture some of those who are accused of committing this crime and the investigation is still ongoing.
On Saturday morning, 9 April 2005, a number of armed members of the al-Durra family attacked the buildings of the Palestinian Legislative Council. They broke into its yard and opened fire. Then they moved towards Gaza Central Prison in the center of Gaza City and created chaos. In the same context, some relatives of the aforementioned murdered woman set fire to tires in the streets and closed a number of roads in Beit Lahia.
PCHR notes with grave concerns the prevalence and misuse of weapons in the OPT due to the failure of the PNA to take necessary measures to end this phenomenon. In this context, since the beginning of this year, PCHR has documented 32 killings and several injuries among Palestinians in the OPT.
PCHR strongly condemns these crimes and reiterates its call for the PNA to immediately act to confront the misuse of weapons in the OPT, which threatens the safety and security of Palestinian civilians. PCHR calls upon the PNA to enforce the law and take necessary measures to retrieve order in the areas that witnesses attacks on public facilities.
Public Document
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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
