In the evening of
Thursday, 16 April 2009, gunmen wearing headscarves of the Izz Addin
al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Hamas Movement – fired
at, and injured, three civilians in Jabalia town in the north of the
Gaza Strip. This incident is a part of the security chaos and misuse of
weapons currently plaguing the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights’ (PCHR) investigations indicate that at approximately
21:30 on Thursday, 16 April 2009, gunmen fired at three young men near
the al-Sultan apartment building in Jabalia Town. The three young men
who sustained different injuries are:
- Isma’il Mohammed
Mousa Dardona, 30, who was wounded by six bullets to the feet and
sustained shrapnel wounds;
- Mus’ab Mohammed
Ibrahim Dardona, 29, who was wounded by three bullets to his left
leg and 10 shrapnel wounds throughout the body; and
- Khaled Mohammed
Mohammed Dardona, 30, who was wounded by three bullets to the feet.
In addition, a
bystander, Yousif Khamis Jneid, 24, was wounded in the feet by two
bullets.
One of the wounded
civilians, Khaled Dardona, said that gunmen wearing on their heads signs
with “Izz Addin al-Qassam Brigades” fired at him and at his two
companions from a distance of approximately 5 meters. Khaled told PCHR
that he fled to a nearby pharmacy, while his companions fell to the
ground and the gunmen continued to fire at them. He added that
immediately after the incident, a white Land Rover arrived at the scene,
and gunmen in civilian clothes stepped down from the car. The gunmen
took him and Isma’il to the car and transferred them to the Kamal ‘Odwan
Hospital. Local civilians brought the third wounded civilian to hospital
in a civilians’ car.
The full circumstances
of the incident have not yet been clarified. Captain ‘Atef al-Louh,
Director of Jabalia Police Station, told PCHR that the police have
opened an investigation into the incident. Police have checked the scene
and taken testimonies from eyewitnesses; however, no significant
conclusions have been reached.
PCHR notes with grave
concern that this attack forms part of the security chaos and misuse of
weapons plaguing the occupied Palestinian territories. PCHR calls on the
authorities to continue investigations and to prosecute perpetrators and
bring them to justice.
