Early this morning, unknown gunmen set alight the Child and Family Care
Center in al-Fukhari Village east of Khan Younis. The Center was
established by the Canaan Institute of New Pedagogy in cooperation with
the al-Fukhari Association for Rural Development. This is the second
time in two days that the Center has been attacked. This incident is
part of the security chaos currently plaguing the occupied Palestinian
territory.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) investigations indicate
that, at approximately 03:00am on 12 April 2009, a number of masked
gunmen set fire to tents belonging to the Child and Family Care Center.
During the attack the gunmen detained the Center’s security guard in a
nearby field. Mr. Al-Bahdari, director of the Center, stated that fire
destroyed the six plastic tents which formed the Center, along with
their contents and equipment. The Child and Family Care Center had been
subject to a similar attack in the early morning of Saturday, 11 April
2009.
The Child and Family Care Center is one of five established by the
Canaan Institute of New Pedagogy in cooperation with different
benevolent associations across the Gaza Strip. These centers aim to help
and support children who live in areas affected by the recent Israeli
offensive.
PCHR strongly condemns the attack on the Child and Family Care Center,
noting that this attack constitutes part of the continuing security
chaos plaguing the occupied Palestinian territory.
PCHR demands that the Prosecutor General of the Palestinian National
Authority open an investigation into this – and all such attacks – so
that the perpetrators may be brought to justice.
