Armed clashes erupted in Rafah on Friday 14 August 2009 between an armed group and Gaza Government security forces backed up by the Al-Qasam Brigades (the military wing of the Hamas Movement).
Twenty-six persons were killed and around 100 injured; most of the casualties were armed persons and civilians living in the area where the clashes occurred.
  On Friday 14 August, police backed up by other security forces and the Al-Qasam Brigades were deployed around the Iben Taymeyah Mosque and the streets adjacent to it in Rafah town in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Armed clashes erupted in and around the mosque with a group of armed men who belong to a group called 'Jund Ansar Allah'.
The fighting started on 14 August after Sheikh Abdul-Latif Mousa, the Imam of the mosque, announced the birth of 'the newborn that is the Islamic Emirate in the surroundings of Jerusalem' during the Friday mass prayers which take place at noon (the Thuhur prayers).
Masked armed men from the ‘Jund Ansar Allah’ group subsequently took control over the mosque.
No clashes took place during or after this prayer, although there was much tension in the area.
  Clashes were sparked after the afternoon (Aser) prayer at approximately 5:00pm, when Sheikh Mousa left the mosque accompanied by a number of the group's armed members.
Other members of the group remained inside the mosque.
The security and Al-Qasam Brigades forces advanced and tried to contain the situation by asking the armed men to surrender themselves; however, they refused to do so.
Relatives of the armed men arrived at the scene and persuaded some of them to leave the mosque.
After some members of the armed group left, other armed men who remained inside the mosque opened fire from the mosque at the police and a crowd of onlookers.
The police returned fire.
A number of policemen were among the first injured persons to be admitted to An-Najar Hospital in Rafah town.
  At approximately 7:30pm, Mohammed Jibril Ash-Shmali, a member of the Al-Qasam Brigades, entered the mosque in an attempt to persuade the armed men to surrender.
His attempt was not successful and when he left the mosque he was shot by the armed men in the abdomen and died.
This development aggravated the situation.
More police and Al-Qasam Brigades members were deployed around the mosque.
The armed men and the police exchanged fire until midnight.
Several security force and Al-Qasam members as well as civilians were killed and injured.
Attempts by the security forces and the Al-Qasam Brigades to take control of the mosque failed as a result of the heavy fire from the mosque; and especially from armed men who were positioned on its minaret.
  At approximately 11:00pm, just after the family of Sheikh Abdul-Latif Mousa left their house, the security forces and Al-Qasam Brigades blew it up with explosives.
The clashes continued until midnight and were resumed in the early morning hours.
  On Saturday 15 August 2009, three of the armed men who were in the mosque surrendered.
A number of 'Jund Ansar Allah' fighters and the body of Sheikh Abdul Latif were found in a house adjacent to his house.
Among them was the body of Khaled Banat, who is also known as Abu Abdullah As-Suri.
According to eyewitnesses, Khaled Banat detonated an explosive belt he had on his body while in the midst of a group of security members as they tried to arrest him.
  As a result of this clash, 26 persons have been killed and 100 injured.
Around 90 members of the group were arrested.
The group members killed are from different parts of the Gaza Strip.
  The Ministry of Interior imposed strict security closure on Rafah governorate and announced that Rafah was closed to journalists.
According to Al Mezan Centre's investigations, 26 persons were killed, five of whom were civilians.
Al Mezan was able to identify their names as follows: Mohammed Ibrahim Kullab, 24, from Khan Younis; Mohammed Abdullah Ghunaem, 35; Ahmed Fou'ad As-Saba', 30; Ahmed Mohammed Judah, 20, from Rafah; Mahmud Mustafa Mikdad, 19, from Rafah.
Al Mezan has also obtained the names of three security force members who were killed in this clash: Ahmed Saleh Jarghoun, 22; Mustafa Hussein Khalil Al-Loqa, 23; and Ayman Khalid Ibrahim Abu Sabalah, 20.
The three were from Rafah.
Two members of the Al-Qassam Brigades were also killed and identified as: Mohamed Jibril Ash-Shamali, 34; and Ehab Maher Al-Qartous, 19.
Sixteen members of the 'Jund Ansar Allah' group were also killed.
They were: Rafeeq Hassan Abu Shbekah, 20, from Rafah; Abdul-Rahman Khader Mousa, 20, from Rafah; Mohammed Salah Abu Nada, 20, from Rafah; Abdullah Mustafa Awadallah, 22, from Rafah; Abdul Latif Mousa, 49, from Rafah; Refa'at Issam Fayed Abu Selmiyeh, 24, from Rafah, Mohamed Hashem An-Natour, 18, from Rafah; Ra'ed Al-Bal'awi, 24; Khalid Hassan Banat, 40 (known as Abu Abdullah Al-Muhagir – As-Suri); Abdullah Khalid Hassan Banat, 20; Hussein Hafez Abu Ta'ah, 23, from Khan Younis; Jehad Basem Douhan, 17, from Khan Younis; Ahmed Yousif Weshah, 16, from Al Buriej camp; Raed Ali Abu I'reban, 33, from An-Nuseirat camp; Zakariya Nizar Al-Loqa, 20, from Rafah; Ameen Mohamed Abu Khusah, 26, from An-Nuseirat camp.
By the time this release was circulated, the whereabouts of four of Sheikh Mousa’s supporters is still unknown; two of them are Sheikh Mousa's sons.
In a field visit to the area where the clashes took place, an Al Mezan field researcher observed severe damage in the wall of the Iben Taymeyah mosque and the destruction of several houses that belong to Sheikh Mousa himself, to his cousins and to the nearby Lafi family.
Two other houses were also severely damaged.
The security forces have started removing the rubble to search for other people who may have died and been buried under it.
The security forces have also banned civilian access to the area until it is certain that the area has been cleared of explosive devices.
Arrests of suspects continue to take place throughout the Gaza Strip, particularly in the North and Middle Gaza governorates.
Al Mezan strongly condemns the bloody actions in Rafah.
It expresses its regret for the large number of victims that these clashes left.
Al Mezan also asserts: That it is necessary to ensure full respect of the rule of law and equality before law.
In this context, Al Mezan emphasizes its support to any efforts exerted from the authorities in Gaza to enforce the law That enforcing the law requires that law enforcement officials respect the law when dealing with outlaws, regardless of their affiliation or crime.
According to the Palestinian Basic Law and human rights standards, suspects and felons do not lose protection accorded to them by the law.
The enforcement of the law cannot be applied at any cost.
Law enforcement officers must at all times respect the relevant principles of necessity and proportionality That the Gaza Government must initiate a prompt, impartial and comprehensive investigation into the Rafah clashes; including by examining the justification for the excessive use of force in the clashes Its denunciation of the participation of the Al-Qassam Brigades in law enforcement tasks alongside the security apparatus.
Al Mezan has frequently denounced such participation and calls on the Government to put an end to it    That all debates around the ideology of the Gaza Government as an Islamic government must be brought to an end.
The government must return to its original function as a civil, democratic government that bases its rule on the constitution and the laws in force.
Under the same token, Al Mezan calls on the Government to ensure due respect for the law and freedoms and deal with extremist groups that try to undermine liberty unlawfully as outlawed groups.
Ends