August 1^st, 2008

 

July 2008 CASUALTY STATISTICS

(18)   Palestinians were killed by Israeli Security Forces. (2) Were assassination. 4 deaths were children (between 0     and 14 years old). 1deaths were children (between 15 and 18).

(11)  Unclear Palestinian deaths (The source of the explosions or other accidents is unknown).

(4)     Israeli killed by Palestinians among them 1 policeman.

 

THE PHRMG SUMMARY REPORT FOR July  2008

Member of the ‘Izziddin al_Qassam  Brigades killed and two injured, Including a Child, by Bomb in Gaza

On Tuesday, 22 July 2008, a member of the ‘Izzidin al-Qassam Bridgades, was killed, and two persons, including a child, also injured, when a bomb they were handling exploded in the al-Shoja’eya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. This incident is part of the security chaos and misuse of weapons continuing to plague the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

On Tuesday, 22 July, Khalil Ibrahim Jundiya(30), a member of the ‘ Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, was killed, and 14 year old Hamza Ahmad Jundiya injured, along with an unidentiefied adult, whilst the three of them were handling the bomb>

The ‘ Izzidin al_Qassam Brigades later issued a statement mooring the death of Khalil Ibrahim Jundiya, indicating that he was killed as a result of ‘a mistake’ whilst handling a weapon.

 

Military Court in Gaza Sentences a man to death

On Sunday, 20 July 2008, the Palestinian Military Court in Gaza sentenced Eyad Diab Sukkar, 35, from al- Shoj’eya neighborhood in Gaza City, to death by firing squad. According to Sukkar’s lawyer, Mr. Hassan Zimmu, the court convicted his client of carrying out hostile activities against Palestinian revolutionists and military operations of the Palestinian revolution, in violation of article 31(a and b) of the Revolutionary Penal Law of Palestine Liberation Organization of 1979.And another 2 persons were sentenced to death.

 

Gaza Beach Crime and the Response of the Government

On Friday, 25 July, an explosive device went off in El-Hilal Café on the Gaza City beach.

It is a café usually frequented by Hamas activists and supporters. The explosion killed 6 people vacationing on the beach; all of them from Gaza City. One of the killed was a 4 year old child; and the other 5 were Hamas members. In addition, 27 people sustained injuries. The identity of the party behind the crime is not yet known. However, the Government in Gaza and its security forces embarked, immediately after the crime, on a series of steps against Fatah members and institutions and other civil society organizations affiliated with Fatah, as if Fatah was behind the crime.

160 people were detained by the Internal Security Apparatus throughout the Gaza Strip. They are being held and questioned in Gaza Central Prison in Gaza City.

the arrests were concentrated in the Northern Gaza Strip and in Gaza City; and that the number of detainees is much more than the officially declared number; since dozens of detainees are held by the Police and were not transferred to Gaza Central Prison. The Police raided and closed Fatah offices and tens of civil society institutions throughout the Gaza Strip. Preliminary information indicates that the Police raided more than 40 office, sports club, benevolent societies, cultural centers, and development agencies. The Police confiscated the belongings of these organizations and took them to undisclosed locations. In addition, the Police took over the Governorate Offices in Central Gaza, Khan Yunis, and Rafah; noting that the Governorates are a governmental institution answerable to the President’s office. Although most targeted organizations are considered affiliated with Fatah, the raids also targeted organizations such as the Palestinian Council for External Relations, a civil society organizations run by independent PLC member Zeyad Abu Amr, whom Hamas supported in the last parliamentary elections. In addition, the office of the National Work Commission in Gaza City was raided. The Commission is composed of PLO factions and is headed by Fatah leader Dr. Zakaria El-Agha.

 

As Palestinian Military Court Sentences 2 people to Death

PHRMG calls upon President Abbas to reject Ruling, and for Abolition of Death Penalty on OPT

On 15 July, 2008, a special Military Court convened in the Governmental Compound in Jenin in the northern West Bank. Senior Military Judge, Brigadier-General Abd El Karim Mosusa El-Masri, presided over the court, with two other military judges, Lt. Colonel Mehriz Etyani and Mjor Nabil Jaber, also present on the judge’s panel. The court issued sentences of death by firing a quad against Wa’el Sa’ed (44). Both men are from the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, in the West Bank.

The death sentence was passed against Wa’el Sa’ed in his presence and against Mohammad Sa’ed in absentia, as he has already fled to Israel. The military court charged both men with treason and conspiracy, in violation of Article 131 of the Revolutionary Penal Code (1979). They were both sentenced to death in accordance with Article 82 of the same law. The court stated that its decision is not subject to appeal, in accordance with Article 247 of the Revolutionary Penal Code, but is however subject to the approval of President Mahmoud Abbas, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

Wa’el Sa’ed’s lawyer, Mohammad Majed Kamanja, said  that the trial was conducted swiftly, and journalists were not allowed to enter the courtroom until the sentences had been passed, and were then prevented from taking photographs. In addition, the lawyer stated that weapons had been present in the courtroom, which is considered a violation of the law.

The arrest of a lawyer and activist in the area of domestic legal and human rights

On Tuesday, 27 July 2008, Palestinian security services have arrested the lawyer, Osama Hisham Makboul From the city of Nablus.

 

Professor Abdel Sattar Qassem abducted by the security services of authority in West Bank

On Monday, 28 July 2008,  Professor Abdel Sattar Qassem Tawfiq Al Khader and a lecturer at Najah National University in Nablus northern West Bank.
His wife said that he was kidnapped by intelligence service after half past one on Monday and is not known where he was detained, abducted and feared for his life because it suffers from a chronic disease against the backdrop of his arrest by the devices in Jericho several years ago, and it is what is known as "Gangrene" in the two legs below the knee.