Al Mezan Condemns Israeli Attacks on Crew of Beit Hanoun Municipality; Calls on International Community to Protect Workers and Ensure the Use and Development of Solid Waste Processing in Gaza Strip

At approximately 10:50 am on Saturday 5 January 2013, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) opened fire at a garbage collection vehicle of the Beit Hanoun Municipality in the North Gaza district.
The truck was approximately 200 meters away from the northern separation fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel when the IOF opened fire at the vehicle.
  As a result, worker Awad Abdullah Ali Az-Za’aneen, 36, sustained shrapnel wounds to the head.
Medical sources at Beit Hanoun Hospital described his injury as minor.
The vehicle also sustained minor damage in the incident.
  According to Al Mezan field investigations, the solid waste dump is located in a border area over a piece of destroyed land and had been used as a solid waste dump until 2007.
The IOF then preventing its use forced the municipality to drop off the solid waste at another, further disposal site east of Juhr Ad-Dik area in Gaza City.
In his affidavit to Al Mezan, Az-Za’aneen stated that he began emptying the trash vehicle on the site at around 6:30 am.
He made a second trip to the town to collect more trash and while emptying the truck for the second time, he was surprised when something hit the left side mirror of the truck.
Az-Za'aneen then felt something strike the right side of his head.
He put his hand on his head and found blood.
Az-Za’aneen stated that he then hurried to the truck and with the driver attempted to escape the area.
They were unable to do so as the truck wheels had sunk into the sand.
The driver phoned the Municipality and an ambulance was sent to the scene.
Doctors at Beit Hanoun Hospital told Az-Za'aneen that he sustained shrapnel wounds of a bullet to the head.
  The shrapnel rested in his skull.
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli attack against a crew of Beit Hanoun Municipality.
Al Mezan views this attack as an Israeli attempt to prevent people in the North Gaza district from using the only solid waste dump in the area.
As stated, it was in 2007 when Beit Hanoun Municipality was forced to downgrade from this larger waste dump to a smaller one.
After the last Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in November 2012, “Pillar of Clouds”, the Municipality was again able to start using the larger dump, having been given consent from the Israeli side.
 In his affidavit to Al Mezan, Mr.
Sufiyan Hamad, Director at Beit Hanoun Municipality, stated that the Municipality had reached an agreement with the Israeli side on 17 December 2012 to allow the municipality crew to drop off trash in that area.
  Al Mezan points out that the IOF attacks against municipality crews are systematic and have resulted in the killing of one person and in the injury of a number of workers.
  Al Mezan warns of the serious environmental effects of preventing the North Gaza municipalities from accessing the only available solid waste dump in this part of the Gaza Strip.
Al Mezan warns of serious environmental harm to the air and groundwater.
Therefore, Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to ensure protection for municipality crews, to enable municipalities to access the solid waste dumps, and to work on facilitating the entry of needed equipment to develop and create new solid waste dumps to decrease air and water pollution in the Gaza Strip.
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