RAMALLAH: On the night of Wednesday January 23, Palestinian police officers pursuing suspected drug traffickers opened fire into the air and hit two innocent bystanders, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports. 20-year-old Walid Anwar Abu Al-Einan and 42-year-old Jihad Abdullah Abu Zbaida were both transferred to a nearby hospital in Rafah after being struck by stray bullets from police gunfire. Abu Al-Einan was hit in his abdomen and Abu Zbaida in his left arm, though the PCHR reports that both sustained only moderate wounds. The press release read, “Sources of the Palestinian police told PCHR that members of Palestinian police force were chasing a car suspected of transporting drugs, and police officers fired in the air to force the car to stop. They further notified that an investigation into the incident has been opened." The PCHR further called on Gaza police forces, under the auspices of the ruling political faction Hamas, to “seriously investigate this incident and publish its results" and “to take necessary measures to restrict the use of firearms by law enforcement officials and to ensure their compliance with Palestinian laws and the relevant international norms and standards." In recent years, largely due to the ongoing Israeli blockade on the narrow coastal enclave, the security situation in southern Gaza has consistently denigrated. Tunnels from Egypt to Gaza are regularly used to smuggle items into the territory. BN
