Over the past two days in the Gaza Strip, Ahmad Thari from Jabalia town was killed and five civilians were injured, including three children, in incidents involving the misuse of weapons. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 11:25 on Monday, 5 June 2006, Ahmad Ibrahim Mohammad Thari (33), a senior member in the Izzedeen El-Qassam Brigades, was killed by an explosive device he had been preparing in a room on the roof of his house, located in Haifa Street in Jabalia. Read more about One Killed and Five Injured, including Three Children, in Incidents involving the Misuse of Weapons in the Gaza Strip
On Monday afternoon, scores of Hamas supporters and members, some of them armed, attacked the offices of Palestine TV in the Ma’an area, east of Khan Yunis. The attack took place during the burial of Atteya and Reem El-Ghalban, who had been killed by gunfire in Khan Yunis a day earlier. Extensive damage was caused to the studio and equipment. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 14:00 on Monday, 5 June 2006, scores of Hamas members and supporters attacked the studio of Palestine TV in the Ma’an area. Read more about Palestinian Television Studio Attacked in Gaza, Causing Major Damage
On a sunny Friday afternoon, Tawfiq Saad sits in front of his house, drinking tea and watching his four children play in a small patch of land right across the house, near the northern border of the Gaza Strip, in the small town of Beit Lahiya. Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoes throughout the area, and clouds of smoke rise less than a hundred metres from his house. The terrified children dash to the house screaming. The youngest of them, five-year-old Najat, jumps into her father’s arms and starts crying. Read more about Palestinian blacksmith dreams of returning to job in Israel
Over the past two days in the Gaza Strip, six people, including four children, were injured in incidents involving the misuse of weapons. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 01:30 on Sunday, 4 June 2006, Omar Mahmoud El-Batsh, a 22-year-old resident of Greater Abasan to the east of Khan Yunis, was admitted to the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. He had been injured by a bullet that had penetrated through the right thigh and then entered the left thigh. The bullet had been fired accidentally from a friend’s firearm. Read more about Six Injured, including Four Children, in Incidents involving the Misuse of Weapons in the Gaza Strip
In the latest clash between armed groups in the Gaza Strip, unidentified gunmen fired at Abdel Hadi Seyam, a member of the Izzedeen El-Qassam Brigades in Gaza City. He was seriously injured in the chest. Prior to this incident, nine people were injured, including a child, in armed clashes between members of the Preventive Security Apparatus and members of the Izzedeen El-Qassam Brigades in Khan Yunis. Unknown gunmen also shot Khader Afana, an officer in the Preventive Security Apparatus, in Gaza City. He died of serious injuries sustained in the attack. Read more about Tension between Fatah and Hamas continues
My family and I live in Rafah. On January 21, 2004, our neighbor, Abu Jamil, woke us at 2:00 AM. He asked for help because the Israeli military came to bulldoze his home. My mother and I helped his family to empty their house. By 6:00 AM it was demolished. Since 1967 Israel has demolished 12,000 Palestinian homes. During this uprising, Israel has demolished 2000 homes in Rafah, mostly near the border with Egypt, and 3,000 houses in the Gaza Strip. In Rafah 3,000 people remain homeless. Read more about We Need Justice
Yesterday evening, Jefal Mahmoud Ayesh (25) and Wedad Ghazi Abu Mustafa (28), from Balata refugee camp near Nablus, were extra-judicially executed in two separate crimes perpetrated by armed Palestinian groups. The perpetrators claimed that the victims had been informants for the Israeli security services. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 15:30 on Tuesday, 30 May 2006, a number of gunmen from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, shot Jefal Ayesh near the northwestern entrance of Balata refugee camp. Read more about 2 Citizens Killed by Gunmen in Nablus
Of the 250,000 Israeli citizens living in over a hundred West Bank settlements, (not counting 200,000 settlers in occupied East Jerusalem), only one-third will face evacuation, says Leggett. “Many may be offered relocation to the large settlement blocs Israel plans to retain. … Perhaps the most sensitive issue will be the question of Jerusalem. Palestinians claim the city as their future capital and say that must be reflected in any resolution to the Mideast’s core conflict. The U.S. has generally supported the Palestinian position during previous peace negotiations.” Read more about Ehud Olmert's "convergence plan"
20 May 2006- For many months now, people assumed that the militant arm of the Islamist movement Hamas, the Ezzeddin Al Qassam Brigades, had stopped its operations by orders of the political echelons of the movement. But recent events in Gaza City demonstrate that, in fact, this militant group is more active than ever. Its agenda, however, has changed. On 23 April, several Brigade members intervened to protect Palestinian Health Minister Basem Naim, from the Hamas-led government, when he was assaulted by several gunmen at his office in Gaza City. Read more about Hamas's militant arm turns to fighting internal chaos
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the attempted abduction of its employee Ashraf Nasrallah (lawyer) by gunmen near the court compound in Gaza City. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 12:15 on Sunday, 28 May 2006, a number of gunmen traveling in a white car intercepted Ashraf, a 34-year-old resident of the Rimal area of Gaza City and a lawyer at the Centre, as he was leaving the court compound in Wahda Street, Gaza City. Three gunmen walked up to Ashraf and, at gunpoint, told him to come with them. Read more about PCHR Condemns the Attempted Abduction of Ashraf Nasrallah in Gaza
