Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned the use of excessive force by the occupying forces in their dealings with civilian children and young people participating in the peaceful demonstration held saturday evening near the Queen´s area east of Gaza City, calling on the international community to intervene.
According to field information gathered by its researchers, the occupying forces stationed near the eastern fence east of Gaza Strip, east of the Gaza Strip, opened fire with machine guns at 17:30 on Saturday, 21 August 2021.
He confirmed that it fired a number of tear gas canisters at the Palestinian citizens who gathered near the eastern fence separating in the context of commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
As a result of live and rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, 41 civilians, including 24 children, were wounded, and the journalist Assem Shehadeh (35 years), a resident of Gaza City who works as a photographer for the National News Agency, was wounded by shrapnel from a live bullet in the face, while medical sources in a hospital described Shifa in Gaza City, two critically injured.
The Human Rights Center confirmed that the shooting operation against the demonstrators continued until 19:00 on the same day.
He strongly condemned the use of excessive and lethal force by the occupation forces against Palestinian civilians who are protected under the rules of international law.
He also stressed that targeting civilians with live bullets and inflicting casualties on their ranks, without posing a threat or danger to the life, security and safety of members of the occupying forces, constitutes serious human rights violations that require accountability.
He reaffirmed the inalienable and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and reiterated his call to the international community to urgently intervene to protect civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip, and to work to immediately end the siege of Gaza, in addition to implementing the principle of accountability whose absence encouraged the occupation forces to kill civilians. the destruction of their property, and the disavowal of the restrictions and obligations imposed by international law on the occupying authorities.
And he added, "Indeed, the lack of accountability encouraged these forces to move forward with their grave violations of the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law."
