The United Nations Humans Rights Violations Inspection Committee started their visit to the occupied Palestinian territories on 11 February and will remain until 17 February.
This visit is a requirement of the resolution S-1/5 issued on 19th October 2000 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in their Fifth Special Session.
This committee intends to collect and classify information on the human rights violations and the activities which constitute severe infringements of international humanitarian law by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Committee has already began its activities and has received a number of official and local Palestinian accounts, including Al Mezan’s, which tried to help and facilitate the work of the Committee by bringing a number of victims and witnesses to provide a life account of the crimes that violated their rights.
With regards to the escalation of danger which occurred the day before yesterday the occupation forces opened fire with machine guns against the Palestinian civilians in Khan Yunis where 130 Palestinian civilians were injured with varying degrees of severity.
Accordingly the Committee decided that it was necessary to visit the area that was suffering from attacks to witness the facts on the ground.
Yesterday morning the committee headed for Khan Yunis and when it tried to approach ash-Shuhada Crossing (Hajiz at-Tufah) the occupation forces opened fire on them with machineguns, the field worker of Al Mezan added that due to the heavy firing the delegation was forced to take refuge in the UNRWA clinic in the area to protect themselves.
Al Mezan Center sees this escalation of violence as a proof of the Israeli crimes against the rights if the Palestinian civilians and their property in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
It also emphasizes its previous request to immediately provide international protection for the Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and hopes that this Committee holding a high status will strengthen this request.
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