Al Mezan Center Calls on the International Community to Protest the Palestinian Civilians

21 August 2007

by Saed Bannoura

The Al Mezan Center For Human Rights issued on Tuesday a press release calling on the International Community to act in order to protect the Palestinian civilians from the ongoing Israeli military attacks against them.
The Center stated that the Israeli policy of using excessive force against the Palestinians led to the death of 16 residents, while at least 35 were injured since the beginning of this month.

The Center considered these attacks as direct violations to the international law and the basic principles of human rights, and said that Israel, encouraged by the international idleness towards its violations, is carrying organized attacks against the Palestinians.

The Center stated that the international community must act immediately in order to stop the Israeli violations to human rights and the international law, and must act in order to protect the Palestinians civilians from the ongoing Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The statement of the center came after the Israeli army killed six Palestinians on Monday and three on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday evening, the Israeli army shelled a Palestinian vehicle driving near a Palestinian security Center near Al Boreij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. Six residents were in the shelled vehicle and they were all killed.

The killed residents were identified as Mohammad Atiyya Abu Arab, 35, Abed-Rabbu Al Hilo, 22, Ali Sa’id Baroud, 34, Mohammad Al Qareenawi, 35, Ismail Abu Abed, 22, Ahmad Ali Al Qareenawi, 23, all from Al Boreij refugee camp. One bystander, Mohammad Al Sheemy, 22, was moderately injured.

On the same evening, an elderly man identified as Mohammad So’oud, was injured in his hand as the army fired shells at the area.

On Tuesday afternoon Three Palestinians were killed when an Israeli aircraft fired at the men east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources have stated.

The Israeli military later confirmed the attack, stating that “two men” had been fired on as they approached the so-called ‘security zone’ separating the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory.

Local sources identified the men as Shadi Sawa, Awad Al-Masri and Mohammad Abu Salem, all said to be members of the Al-Quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

A fourth man, who was injured in the air strike, was later kidnapped by Israeli military forces after they invaded the area of the attack.