Gunshots Fired from the Street Kill a Girl on her Balcony in Al-Bureij Refugee Camp, Al Mezan Calls for Investigation and Restricting Use of Small Arms in Gaza

Around 9 pm on Friday, 17 May 2013, Basma Nasser Saleh, 13, was killed, while her sister, Amani, 17, was injured on the balcony of their 4th floor home in the refugee camp, Al-Bureij, in the Middle Gaza district.
Al Mezan's investigation into the incident indicates that they were hit by shots fired from the street during a family feud in the camp.
Al Mezan calls for an investigation into the incident and restricting the spread and use of small arms in the Gaza Strip.
Eyewitnesses informed Al Mezan that a family feud escalated on Friday evening between relatives from the victims’ extended family, who live next door.
The dispute spread into the street and many people crowded towards the activity.
Basma Saleh and other members of her family looked into the street from their balcony after hearing the commotion from their house.
Suddenly, an eyewitness said, “a young man carrying a gun (believed to be an AK 47) arrived at the scene and fired several rounds in the air”.
One of the bullets hit Basma Saleh, who was carried to hospital in the nearby town of Deir Al-Balah in a police car.
Medical sources announced her death on Saturday.
The forensic investigation at Shifa hospital in Gaza city confirmed that the death was caused by a bullet wound to the head.
Amani Saleh, Basma's older sister, sustained an injury to her right hand from bullet shrapnel.
Her injury was light and she did not go to the hospital.
Police sources in Gaza said that an investigation was initiated into the incident and that a number of suspects had been arrested.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the use of small arms in this illegal capacity, which in this case led to the devastating loss of a young girl.
The incident is symptomatic of a state of security chaos in which the use of small arms in Gaza has been prevalent for years and has left thousands of Palestinians dead and wounded in the past decade.
Al Mezan calls for a full, effective investigation into the incident and the prosecution of anyone who is proven guilty of using small arms illegally.
Al Mezan also calls for tighter restrictions on the spread and use of small arms in the Gaza Strip.
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