|
Report, PCHR
The
Electronic Intifada
29 Palestinians Killed and more than 200
Injured in Renewed Internal Clashes
PCHR strongly condemns the bloody events over
the past three days, the worst of their kind. These tragic
events left 29 dead, including 7 civilians (incl. 3 women and 3
children), and more than 200 injured, half of them innocent
civilians. The Centre welcomes reaching another ceasefire
between Hamas and Fatah under Egyptian sponsorship Saturday
evening. However, there is concern over the continued state of
tension, military deployment, sporadic gunfire, and roadblocks
in Gaza City.
Since the afternoon of Thursday, 1 February
2007, armed clashes resumed between Fatah and Hamas militias and
security forces split in allegiance to both parties. Thousands
of gunmen and security personnel armed with machine guns and
other weaponry seen for the first time in Gaza deployed in
streets, intersections, and on roof tops. Both sides exchanged
armed clashes, sniping, and shelling. This serious escalation
included various flagrant violations of human rights and
international law by gunmen and security officers from both
sides. PCHR's preliminary investigation in tens of incidents
show disregard for civilian lives by the conflicting parties,
including the use of civilian installations, especially
residential buildings, in fighting operations. Gunmen from both
sides took up positions on the roofs of high residential
buildings and at their entrances. In addition, they erected
barricades in densely populated areas. These military positions
were used in armed clashes, which increased the threat to
civilian lives. In addition, the escalation included mutual
attacks on civilian institutions including universities and
media organizations. A state of fear overtook civilians, who did
not go out of their houses. In addition, transportation vehicles
did not function, with a state of near curfew in Gaza City
specifically and throughout the Gaza Strip.
PCHR condemns the bloody clashes, and calls for
the immediate cessation of hostilities, respecting the ceasefire
agreements, and resorting to dialogue. The Centre stresses the
fact that even at times of conflict such as these clashes the
opposing parties do not have a free reign in their actions. They
have a key responsibility to ensure the safety of civilian
lives, and protecting them from harm.
Clashes between both sides renewed since the
afternoon of Thursday, 1 February 2007, after armed members of
Hamas and the Executive Force intercepted a convoy of trucks for
the Presidential Guard moving from the south to the north of the
Gaza Strip. Hamas and Executive Force members commandeered two
trucks, and confiscated them claiming they carry weapons. The
Egyptian Security Delegation and Presidential Guard denied the
allegations. Fierce clashes erupted in this incident between
both sides, resulting in the death of 4 members of the
Presidential Guard and National Security Forces:
Ibrahim Mohammad Khattab (50) from Beit
Hanoun;
Murad Ibrahim El-Talla' (24) from Nuseirat;
Hazem Jamil El-Harazin (23) from Gaza City;
and
Arafat El-Mushallah (24) from Gaza City
Thirty-four others were injured, including 14
civilians (among them 7 children). One of the injured was
seriously injured in the abdomen, and died of her wounds the
next day. The woman killed is Maha Ahmad Abu Shammala (41) from
El-Bureij refugee camp.
As a result, the ceasefire drafted under
Egyptian sponsorship on 30 January 2007 collapsed. Fierce
clashes erupted in different areas of the Gaza Strip, mainly in
the governorates of Gaza and the North. The most notable events
were:
At approximately 15:30 on Thursday, members of
the Executive Force and Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions attacked a
compound for Military Intelligence near Tal El-Za'tar Quarter
east of Jabalia refugee camp. Twenty-one members of Military
Intelligence were injured. The attackers seized the compound and
burned it. Two hours later, one of the injured died of his
wounds. The identity of the killed is Osama Tareq El-Shamali
(24) from Beit Lahia.
At approximately 17:00 fierce clashes broke out
between members of the National Security Forces and the
Executive Force near Abbas Police Station inOmar Mukhtar Street
in Gaza City. The clashes spread to the Governmental Complex in
Tal El-Hawa Quarter and the vicinity of the Islamic University.
Gunmen from both sides took up positions on the roofs of the
Governmental Complex, the University, and residential buildings.
They clashed using light arms and shells. Two members of the
Presidential Guard were killed:
Mohammad Ibrahim El-Deiri (22) from Gaza;
and
Mousa El-Sawalhi (25)
Civilian houses in the area came under fire.
This included the house of Hanan El-Jerjawi (48). She was taken
to Shifa Hospital, where she died of a heart attack. Other
civilians were injured, many of them seriously. There were 7
children among the injured. Two of the children died of their
wounds the next day:
Walid Nahed Habboush (7); and
Mahmoud Maher El-Dahdouh (16).
At approximately 22:00, fierce clashes erupted
between both sides near a Presidential Guard compound west of
Gaza. Nine civilians were injured. One of the injured was a
child who died of his wounds in Shifa Hospital. The child's
identity is Mohammad Anan Baker (17). He was injured by several
bullets in the lower body.
At approximately 23:30, the Presidential Guard
stormed the Islamic University, and exchanged gunfire and shells
with the opposing party. Fire broke out in the laboratories
building in the northwest part of the university.
At approximately 2:30 on Friday, 2 February
2007, the Executive Force and Izzedeen El-Qassam Brigades
conducted a series of raids on a number of security forces
compounds in the north of the Gaza Strip. The fiercest of the
attacks came against during the siege of the General
Intelligence compound, near the Police Station in the center of
Jabalia refugee camp. Fierce clashes continued till 4:00, and
ended when the Executive Force took the General Intelligence
compound and Police station. The clashes resulted in the death
of Colonel Abdel Qadir S'leem (55 from Gaza), the commander of
the compound. Security sources stated that he was executed after
surrendering to the Executive Force. Two members of the
Executive Force were killed:
Mohammad Abdel Hai El-Ajrami (24) from
Jabalia who was killed by bullets throughout the body; and
Tariq Mustafa Abdel Aziz (34) from Beit
Lahia. His body was dismembered by a shell.
Simultaneously, the Executive Force and
Izzedeen El-Qassam Brigades attacked the Preventive Security
Apparatus compound in Beit Lahia. Clashed continued till 8:00 in
the morning, and ended with the attackers controlling the
compound. A Preventive Security operative was killed by a bullet
in the head. His identity is Medhat Abdel Qadir Thaher (21) from
Beit Lahia. Other defenders were injured, some of them
seriously.
Clashes in the vicinity of the house of Samih
El-Madoun, a Fatah activist, in the Beit Lahia Project Street
continued till 9:30 in the morning. A young woman, Rana Zeyad
Theyab (25), living in the area was killed by a bullet to the
head.
At approximately 6:00, Izzedeen El-Qassam
Battalions gunmen stormed the Palestine Labor Union offices in
Saftawi Street, west of Jabalia. They destroyed the entrance
with an explosive charge. The moved through the building till
reaching Palestine Labor Voice radio station in the 4th floor.
They forced the workers out of the building at gunpoint. Then
they took the broadcasting equipment and computers. They also
ransacked furniture and assets inside.
And in Gaza City, clashes broke out at
approximately 7:00 on Friday, 2 February 2007, around the Police
Academy (Jawazat). Shells were fired at the academy. Four
members of the civilian police were injured by shrapnel and
bullets. In addition, a paramedic was seriously injured by a
bullet in the head: Na'el Taysir El-Adan (23), as he was tending
the wounded.
Simultaneously, fierce clashes erupted between
the Executive Force and Police Intervention compound near
Yarmouk stadium in Gaza City. A Policeman was killed by a bullet
to the chest: Munthir Yunis Shabet (35) from Gaza City. Five
other policemen were injured. The Executive Force controlled the
compound and confiscated equipment, transporting them in trucks.
At approximately 11:00 the Executive Force
attacked a Presidential Guard training compound (Qureish
compound) in Sheikh Ejleen area, south of GazaCity. Fierce
clashes broke out between both sides. Four trainees were killed:
Ramzi Nahed Abu Amsha (22);
Mohammad Suliman Bashir (23);
Mo'min Abdel Naser Weshah (21); and
Hatem Abdallah Shehab (20).
Six trainees were injured; and two of them died
of their wounds the next day:
Azmi Waheb El-Wadeyya (21); and
Abdel Hamid Faris Madi (21).
At approximately 12:30 clashes resumed around
the Islamic University, resulting in the death of two security
officers and a civilian. The identity of those killed is:
Mahmoud Rafat El-Weheidi (20), a civilian
bystander;
Mahmoud Issa Rajab (19) a Presidential Guard
member; and
Khaled Mohammad El-Mash'harawi (37) a
General Intelligence Operative.
Fires broke out inside the university.
At approximately 15:00, unknown gunmen attacked
Al-Quds Open University in Naser Street in Gaza City. They
burned the university buildings.
At approximately 20:00, the Egyptian security
delegation convoy came under fire from unknown gunmen near Abbas
police station in Gaza City. No injuries were reported.
In Khan Yunis, fierce clashes broke out at
13:30 on Friday, 2 February 2007, when unknown gunmen kidnapped
4 Fatah activists traveling in a car onSalah El-Deen Street in
the city. The clashes spread to the towns east of Khan Yunis,
and continued till 16:30 in the afternoon. A member of the
Executive Force, Ayman Hasan El-Najjar (24), was killed by a
bullet to the abdomen. Eight gunmen from both sides and
bystanders were injured.
Following these clashes, members of the
Executive Force and Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions stormed two
residential houses of Fatah activists in Bani Suheila. The
forced the residents out of them, and detonated explosives
inside one, and burned the other.
At approximately 1:30 on Saturday, 3 February
2007, unknown gunmen burned the offices of the Students' Union
at Al-Aqsa Open University branch in Rafah. The structure was
partially damaged.
At approximately 16:00 on Saturday, clashes broke out between
both sides around Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The clashes
continued for more than 90 minutes, and resulted in the injury
of a child bystander: Zohdi Jamal El-Ghoul (17). He was injured
by a bullet to the leg.
At approximately 20:00 in the evening of the
same day, a member of the Executive Force was seriously injured
by a bullet to the head in renewed clashes around Shifa
Hospital. The injured is Hasan Abdel Qadir Seyam (23).
At approximately unknown gunmen fired at
National Security Forces deployed near the Palestinian Aviation
Company on Jamal Abdel Naser Street in GazaCity. One force
member was killed: Eyad Hussein Abu El-Kheir (24). He was hit by
bullets to the head and neck.
At approximately 21:00, a Fatah activist was
hit by a bullet in the left leg. Masked gunmen fired at him in
Ma'an area in Khan Yunis.
At approximately 23:15, shells were fired at
the Presidential Guard compound (Landing Pad) in Tal El-Hawa
Quarter in Gaza City.
Despite another ceasefire yesterday evening,
sporadic clashes continue throughout the Gaza Strip. In
addition, the presence of gunmen and security personnel persists
on streets, intersections, and roof tops. A number of streets
and intersections remain closed, especially in Gaza City.
PCHR strongly condemns internal fighting, and:
Calls upon all parties to stop all attacks
and clashes, and to immediately respect the ceasefire agreement
fully, including the withdrawal of all forms of militancy from
streets and residential areas;
Views dialogue as the only way out of the
current political impasse, and the only way to stop the state of
internal fighting in which the people as a whole are paying a
heavy price. The infighting will lead to political obscurity and
self destruction;
Calls upon all parties to preserve the lives
of Palestinian civilians under all circumstances, and to refrain
from using civilian installations, especially residential ones,
in combat operations; and
Calls upon the Presidency and Government to
fulfill their responsibilities towards the populace, and reminds
them that the Israeli occupation is the only party that benefits
from internal fighting. |
