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Al Mezan Calls for More Effective Gun Control Measures

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30 October 2017 |Reference 69/2017

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights deeply regrets the death of Ismail Mohammed Al Ghusain, 35-year-old resident of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza’s Middle Area. Al Ghusain died after sustaining fatal wounds sustained during a family dispute on Saturday, 28 October. The tragic event resulted in three additional injuries with one individual being in critical condition at the time of publication.

 

According to Al Mezan’s documentation, a family feud broke out between two families at around 8 pm on Saturday, 28 October 2017 in Block C of Al Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses reported heavy use of firearms throughout the dispute and four people were injured, two critically. Al Ghusain was not able to recover from his head and leg injuries, and doctors at the Al Shifaa Hospital pronounced him dead on Monday morning—two days after the violent event. 

 

The number of casualties from family feuds evidence the ineffectiveness of gun control measures in the Gaza Strip. In 2017, in increasingly occurring family feuds and individual fights, the number of fatalities has reached 16, including four children and three women. In addition, 51 people have been injured, including eight children and one woman. 

 

While law enforcement officers do conduct investigations into these incidents and take suspects into custody, as was done in Al Ghusain’s case, Al Mezan maintains that more rigorous measures, such as increased gun control, must be taken immediately.  

 

Al Mezan therefore calls on relevant authorities to:

 

  1. -- Make sure that all investigations into cases of gun-related violence by the law enforcement are transparent and thorough;
  2. -- Limit and regulate purchase and ownership of small arms and light weapons, and impose legal measures for any abuse of such weapons, regardless if the abuse is committed by civilians, law enforcement agents, or members of armed groups.
  3. -- Promote non-violent conflict resolution and strengthen confidence in the justice system.