15 February 2008
Unidentified Militants Attack
YMCA Headquarters in Gaza City
The undersigned civil society
organisations utterly condemn an attack on the YMCA Headquarters in Gaza city in
the early hours of this morning.
Unidentified militants broke into the
YMCA Headquarters, planted explosive devises and subsequently completely
destroyed up the library.
The undersigned organisations asks the
Dismissed Government to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into
this crime, which is a continuation of a number of similar attacks targeting
national, cultural and civil society organisations in the Gaza Strip. This crime
also represents a continuation of security chaos across the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT).
The YMCA is considered one of the
outstanding national institutions in the OPT, and is also one of the most
prominent civil society organisations offering social, cultural and sports
facilities. It also runs a kindergarten and its facilities are utilised by a
wide spectrum of Palestinians. In addition, the YMCA has for decades played an
important role in the development of the national Palestinian civil society
movement.
According to preliminary
investigations, at approximately midnight on Friday February 14th, a
group of more than ten unidentified militants, some masked, broke into the YMCA,
in El Jalla Street in the centre of Gaza city. The militants overpowered two
security guards, Abdel Maarti Abu Khussah (52) and Reziq Abu Ajami (25),
handcuffed both men at gunpoint, and confiscated their mobile phones as well as
the keys to the YMCA. The militants subsequently broke into, and damaged, the
YMCA administration office, before breaking into the library. Abdel Khussah
reported that he and Rezic Ajami were then blindfolded, forced into a car,
driven approximately three kilometres north east of Gaza city, and then
abandoned.
At approximately 1.45 am, a large
explosion was heard in the centre of Gaza city. This was later identified as an
explosion in the YMCA library which completely destroyed the library. This was
one of the explosive devises planted by the militants at the YMCA. A second
unexploded device was discovered at the entrance to the YMCA auditorium, and
later dismantled by the police.
The YMCA library contained 8,000 books,
many of which had been donated by children, and has been a popular and extremely
well used cultural facility. It was later discovered that the militants had also
stolen a computer and a television from the administration office. In addition,
they stole the car in which the two security guards were abducted, and which
belongs to the Gaza city Kanan Pedagogical Centre.
The undersigned organisations reiterate
their utter condemnation of this crime, which deliberately targeted a prominent
and long-standing national institution that has massively contributed to
national Palestinian culture.
Therefore, the undersigned
organisations:
-
Reiterate was a cowardly
attack on one of Gaza's most important and well respected civil
institutions. At the same time, this indicates a serious continuity of
security chaos in the OPT.
-
Demand the Dismissed
Government conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into this crime,
bring the perpetrators to justice and publish the results of their
investigation.
-
Also reiterate that this
crime highlights the prolonged failure of the relevant authorities to
investigate previous crimes of this nature, or to make any serious efforts
to prevent such crimes from reoccurring, which has de-facto encouraged
crimes of this nature.
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
(PCHR)
Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights
Gaza
Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP)
Palestinian Agricultural Relief
Committees (PARC)
Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Gaza
Women's Affairs Centre, Gaza (WAC)
Culture and Free Thought Association
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