Complaints
ar EN

Press Releases

Press Release: Al Mezan regrets the tragic loss of life resulting from a violent family dispute, and calls for effective gun control

    Share :

10 March 2021 |Reference 18/2021

The Gaza Strip has witnessed an alarming rise in violent family disputes and retaliatory attacks, resulting in casualties and property damage. The situation is a result of instability in the Gaza Strip and requires strengthening of the rule of law, along with serious measures to limit the proliferation of small arms.

 

In the most recent incident, a violent dispute broke out on Tuesday evening, 9 March 2021, in al-Shujaiya, a neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. Al Mezan’s field investigation shows that the dispute broke out between members of two families at approximately 11pm, with the use of firearms reported. As a result, a 21-year-old man was killed—Asem Rafiq Alareer—and another person sustained a minor injury, as reported by medical personnel at al-Shifa Hospital. The police launched an investigation into the incident and made several arrests.

 

A group of gunmen reportedly fired live bullets into the air at Alareer’s funeral the next morning, while a group of unknown people set a citizen’s car on fire in the neighborhood.

 

“The number of victims of internal violence, especially violent family disputes, is continuing to increase,” noted Mr. Issam Younis, Al Mezan’s Director-General. “Effective measures must be put in place to ensure the safety and security of the population and their protection against this type of resurging violence,” he said.

 

Al Mezan regrets the continued loss of life in incidents of internal violence in Gaza and reiterates its call on the competent authorities to take serious measures to urgently limit the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The authorities must also uphold the rule of law and prevent parties to a dispute from taking the law into their own hands. The authorities must launch a prompt, comprehensive and credible investigation into the tragic event and hold perpetrators to account through a sound legal process.

Browse more

Related