Nablus, December 26th 2009
On the eve of the first commemoration of the War on Gaza during Operation ‘Cast Lead’, an Israeli assault was conducted which resulted in 6 Palestinian fatalities.
Three young Gazans; Mahmoud Sharatha, Hani Abu Ghazal, and Bashir Abu Dheil were identified as the victims of the attack near the northern border of Gaza.
The three victims were searching for construction materials near the northern border when the Israeli Occupying Forces opened fire on them.
Another three men were killed by the Israeli Occupying Forces in the early hours of this Saturday morning in Nablus. Raed Sukarji, Anan Subih, and Ghassan Abu Sharikh were the victims of the assault carried out earlier today.
Raed Sukarji 38 years old was shot in the head and chest in front of his pregnant wife and two children. During the course of action, his wife was also shot in the feet.
Ghassan Abu Sharkh was taken outside of his house, and executed shortly after his arrest.
Anan Subih, a 33 year old Palestinian was also amongst the murdered victims.
Israeli media reports the involvement of the three men in the Thursday killing of Rabbi Meir Hai, however there is no evidence found. Despite this, the three men were killed by the Occupation Forces without a legal investigation and a court process.
These six victims are added to the continuing death toll as a result of the ongoing Israeli occupation.
"One day before the first year memorial of the Israeli military offensive against 1.5 million people in Gaza, the IOF proved once more its brutal mentality in the steps towards a so called ‘peace‘ " stated Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi.
With these further violations of International law, Israel is proving that the Israeli government is trying to escalate the violence in Palestine in order to avoid any commitment to the peace process. This is also been made clear by the so called settlement freeze which is, as long as it is not respected, a major obstacle in the negotiations towards peace.
From this crime, it is apparent that there is no respect or compliance with International law as was seen during the war on Gaza in Operation "Cast Lead". Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi mentions that in order to achieve a just and durable peace, all parties to the conflict need to be willing to engage in a viable negotiation process.