Ramallah, 12-12-06: The Palestinian National Initiative strongly condemns the murder of 3 children aged 6 to 10, and the driver of the car in which they were traveling, by unidentified gunmen in Gaza City yesterday.
Salam (4), Ahmed (7), and Ussama (9) Ba’lousha were traveling to school on Monday morning when the car in which they were traveling was intercepted by two other cars carrying unknown gunmen, who proceeded to open fire at the boys’ car. The 3 children, together with their driver, Mahmoud Mohammed al-Habeel, were killed in a hail of more than 70 bullets. A further 4 innocent civilians were wounded in the attack.
The PNI expressed profound shock and sadness over the boys’ killings, and conveyed its deepest sympathies to their family.
It called for an immediate end to the chaos and internal violence which has become all too familiar in the Gaza Strip [1] in the context of Israel’s re-invasion on 28 June, humanitarian crisis, and the prolonged closure of Gaza’s borders by Israel.
It urged the Palestinian Authority to take immediate steps to end the violence, to bring those responsible for this horrific crime to justice, and to ensure genuine protection and security for ordinary Palestinians.
PNI General Secretary, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, stated that the most effective step towards ending the current chaos lies in the formation of a national unity government on the basis of the National Reconciliation Document.
Notes
[1] According to PCHR, at least 244 Palestinians, including 31 children, have been killed, and at least 1274 others, including 158 children, injured in incidents related to the state of security chaos and misuse of weapons since the beginning of 2006. (PCHR. 11 December 2006. Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Call upon the PNA to Urgently Take Measures to Ensure the Security of People.