HTML clipboard
Press Release
PCHR strongly condemns the internal violence that led to 8 deaths and dozens of injuries in Khan Yunis and Gaza
Ref: 40/2001
Date: 29 July 2001
In an incident of unprecedented internal violence in Palestinian society, armed confrontations broke out in Khan Yunis and moved to Gaza City on Friday. Eight citizens were killed and many were injured in a shoot out apparently motivated by a family feud.
According to investigations carried out by PCHR, on Friday, July 27, 2001, at approximately 09:00 local time, two armed men shot dead Anwar Hashem El-Jurof, 35, from Bani Suhaila village in Khan Yunis, a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service, at a market in Bani Suhaila, claiming that he was engaged in the killing of a member of the Abu Hassanein family during the first Intifada. Following this incident, dozens of the victim’s family, residents of the area and members of various security services went to the houses of the Abu Hassanein family in the eastern part of Khan Yunis, where the armed men had taken shelter. Armed confrontations broke out between the two sides and lasted until the evening. Although Palestinian police, members of the Popular Resistance Committees and other local notaries had intervened in the early stages of the conflict, confrontations came to an end only on Saturday afternoon. Seven citizens, in addition to the first victim, were killed:
1) Naji Mohammed Abu ‘Aassi, 30;
2) Rami Fayez Abu Jame’, 21;
3) Mohammed Suleiman Abu Jamous, 13;
4) Mohammed Rasmi El-Najjar, 28;
5) Mahmoud Abu Hassanein, 45;
6) Ibrahim Abu Hassanein, 20; and
7) Adam Abu Hassanein, 25.
In addition, 23 citizens, including 4 policemen, were injured. On Saturday morning, July 28, 2001, armed persons from the Abu Hassanein family, including the alleged killers of El-Jurof, surrendered to the Palestinian police.
The violence then moved to Gaza City, where some members of the Abu Hassanein family live. They set tires alight, blocked roads and attacked public and private property, including a police station in Al-Shujaeya neighborhood and the house of the Palestinian President’s Advisor for Human Rights.
Later, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat issued an order to initiate prosecution proceedings against those who were involved in these events before the State Security Court. The court held its first session on the case on Saturday morning, July 28, 2001 in Khan Yunis. The court is still in session.
PCHR strongly condemns such violence, which constitutes a serious qualitative development in the use of firearms in family quarrels and revenge. This creates concern regarding the lack of personal security for individuals and groups in Palestinian society.
PCHR calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to:
1) Protect activists of the first Intifada from any danger to their lives and their families’ lives because of activities they carried out under orders of their political organization, especially as this incident has been the fifth of its kind since the establishment of the PNA;
2) Control the use of firearms; and
3) Form a specialized inquiry committee to investigate these events and prosecute those found to have been involved, to promote the rule of law and achieve stability and internal security.
PCHR asserts that protecting the Palestinian people and maintaining public order is the responsibility of the PNA. PCHR considers that economic and social frustration, caused by the continued Israeli aggression under which the Palestinian population continues to live, can not justify any form of social violence. PCHR calls upon Palestinian citizens to:
1) Acknowledge the judiciary as the sole institution for conflict resolution and to resist resorting to violence;
2) Eliminate all forms of tribalism; and
3) Refrain from attacking public and private property.
PCHR calls upon Palestinian civil society organizations, especially the political parties, to work effectively on containing the crisis and to avoid the repetition of events that threaten the unity and safety of the Palestinian people and public order.
