Press Releases

Al Mezan condemns ongoing state of insecurity

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19 March 2006 |Reference 36/2006

Amid the absence of effective governmental procedures and the ongoing state of insecurity, a number of internal incidents took place on April 18th, including kidnapping, detainment and shooting.
According to Al Mezan field investigations, at approximately 9.
30am on April 18th, armed and masked persons used two cars to intercept preventive security officer Husni Abu Mansour, 23, in front of Anour Aziz mosque near the UNRWA schools in Block 9 of Jabalia Camp.
The gunmen shot Abu Mansour in the leg and fled.
At approximately 10.
30am on the same day, police officers Mohammad Hammad, 30, and Kamal Al Fleit, 30, were kidnapped on their way to work in Gaza City.
A white Subaru stopped them in the Al Bassa area of Deir Al Balah Camp, they were led to an unknown area and were released 40 minutes later in Al Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City; the kidnappers also stole the officers' car and mobile phones.
Later at approximately 12am, four armed persons kidnapped Mohammad Dheeb, 17, in Deir Al Balah.
The hostage reported to Al Mezan that the kidnappers beat him and humiliated him during one hour and stole his mobile phone before dropping him at Al Mawasi area in Khan Younis.
He reported that the kidnappers made threats urging the resignation of his father, the Director of the Ministry of Agriculture in Deir Al Balah and who was subjected to the same treatment on March 23rd.
In a separate incident on the same day at around 8.
15pm, Brigadier General Dawood Al Atrash working in Military Liaison was kidnapped by a group of armed persons who pulled him from his car near Al Farooq mosque in Al Nusseirat Camp in the middle district.
The General and his bodyguards were taken to an unknown area and released at approximately 10.
10pm.
It was later reported that the kidnappers mistook Al Atrash for someone else.
In addition, at approximately 7am on the same day, a number of citizens blocked the way to Al Awda roundabout in Rafah in protest against not having received their salaries from the Office of Social Affairs UNRWA.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemns the ongoing state of insecurity, and expresses its profound sorrow and regret upon the loss of citizens.
It also maintains deep concern over the PNA impotence to undertake effective procedures to halt this situation which encourages further extrajudicial incidents and thus the exacerbation of the situation.
In its previous press releases, Al Mezan called upon the new cabinet to put security within Palestinian society as a priority in its internal agenda.
Thus, the Center calls on the PNA to halt the state of insecurity and impose the law as an introductory phase to establishing the rule of law within Palestinian society; it also confirms that the announcement made to open investigations on cases of internal security is a positive step; however, it could be worth little if the results of investigations are not publicly stated and perpetrators not brought to justice.
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