Field Update

On Thursday, 28 March 2019, three civilians, including a child, were killed and two civilians, including a woman, were wounded in three separate shooting incidents in Jenin, Gaza and al-Nuseirat. These crimes are part of a series of incidents which reflect the ongoing state of the proliferation of weapons, the security chaos and the assault of the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).  All of these incidents have threatened the life and security of Palestinians in the oPt for years.

According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 16:00, unknown persons opened fire at a man and a woman in a Palestinian vehicle after intercepting them near al-Jenan neighborhood, southeast of Hebron. As a result, ‘A. Y. S. (28) was killed after being hit with several live bullets to his legs, resulting in a laceration to the main artery and therefore his immediate death. Moreover, D. M. D. (30) was hit with two live bullets to the legs and then taken to al-Razi Hospital (tied to the Jenin Zakat Committee), where she was provided first aid. D. M. D. was then taken by the Palestinian Security Service to an unidentified location fearing for her life. Later, the Palestinian police arrived at the crime scene and opened an investigation; however, the shooting circumstances remain murky.

In Gaza City, a person was killed and his brother was wounded after their father opened fire at them on grounds of a dispute broke out between them. At approximately 16:30, a dispute broke out between a father and his two sons from (KH) family on al- Moghrabi Street in al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City and the father then shot his two sons. As a result, ‘A. (23) was hit with a live bullet to the chest and died while K. (21) was wounded with a live bullet to the leg. Police sources confirmed that the father killed (‘A.) and wounded (K), arrested him and opened an investigation into the incident to identify its circumstances.

In al-Nusairat camp, an 11-year-child was killed in a family dispute. At approximately 19:00, an internal family dispute broke out between (Q.) family members, in which they used weapons.  As a result, E. Sh. Q. was killed after he was hit with a live bullet to the abdomen. The child was then taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where his death was declared after 30 minutes. The police arrived at the crime scene, dispersed the dispute, arrested several suspects, and opened an investigation into the incident.

PCHR expresses concern over the increasing number of causalities due to the use and mishandling of weapons. Thus, PCHR calls upon the competent authorities to prosecute the perpetrators and demands them to take the necessary measures to protect civilians and prevent the recurrence of such incidents.