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Al Mezan regrets the tragic loss of life resulting from a dispute that broke out in Jabalia Camp, and calls for effective gun control

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oPt
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Al Mezan
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Yesterday, 17 May 2020, Ahmed Ibrahim Isefan, 39, and Abdelaziz Othman Abu Rawaa, 23, died at the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza from wounds they had sustained in the abdomen and chest, respectively, during armed clashes between two families in Jabalia Camp.

Al Mezan’s documentation indicates that a dispute broke out at approximately 6:15pm on Sunday, 17 May 2020, between two families in Jabalia Camp. The dispute turned violent and armed members of both families fired bullets into the air. As a result, Ahmed and Abdelaziz were both killed, and three others sustained minor to moderate injuries as assessed by medical personnel in the Indonesian Hospital. The police opened an investigation into the incident and arrested a number of suspects.

In a separate incident, another violent dispute broke out at 3pm and later at 10pm on Saturday, 16 May 2020, between two families in Bureij Camp, Middle Gaza. The use of firearms and hand grenades was reported and resulted in four injuries, one of which was described as severe by doctors at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Balah. The police arrived at the location of the incident, stopped the altercation, confiscated a number of firearms, and opened an investigation.

Al Mezan regrets the death of Ahmed Ibrahim Isefan and Abdelaziz Othman Abu Rawaa, and the continued loss of life in internal violent incidents in Gaza. These types of incidents gravely undermine the safety and security of the population, and the local authorities, as duty bearer under international law, must take serious measures, in particular to urgently limit the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Al Mezan calls on the relevant authorities to uphold the rule of law and prevent the 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 events and hold perpetrators to account through a sound legal process.