In this picture taken Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, Sheikh Hussam al-Gazar, deputy director of the Salafi charity, looks at his Islamic books in his office, in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip. They look like Afghan warriors, preach global jihad and are too radical even for Hamas. They're becoming an increasing headache for the Palestinian Islamic militant group ruling Gaza. Jihadi Salafis, followers of a violent strain of ultra-conservative Islam, have organized into small, shadowy armed groups that have clashed with Hamas forces and fired rockets at Israel in defiance of Hamas' informal truce. Perhaps even more worrisome for Hamas, Salafis also claim a growing appeal among Gazans in the territory's pressure cooker of isolation and poverty, raising fears they could serve as a bridgehead for their ideological twin, al-Qaida. (AP Photo/ Eyad Baba)http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MGAE-82DE5L?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
Bomb Detonated near ICRC Convoy in Northern Gaza Strip
Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
Date: 04 Feb 2010
Today afternoon, unknown persons detonated a bomb near a convoy of vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) near Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. A vehicle was damaged, but no casualties were reported. This latest attack is part of the state of security chaos and proliferation of weapons plaguing the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 14:15 on Thursday, 04 February 2010, a bomb planted by unknown persons exploded near a convoy of 4 vehicles belonging to the ICRC while traveling on Saladin Road opposite to al-Shawa fuel station near Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. The explosion of the bomb, which had been planted two meters to the east of the road, resulted in smashing the front and side windows and damaging the front of the last vehicle in the convoy, which holds a plate number (900441-13759). No casulaties were reported. Mr. Eyad Nasser, Spokesman of the ICRC in Gaza, stated that the vhicles were transporting 8 international staff members of the ICRC towards Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.
The Palestinian police arrived at the area immediately and opened an investigation into the attack. An officer in the expolsives engineering unit in the Palestinian police, Midhat Ebrash, stated that the bomb was planted two meters away from the tract on which the convoy was traveling, and that shrapnel from the bomb spread over the area. He added that his unit was still checking the shrapnel to identify the kind of the bomb.
PCHR strongly condemns this attack on the ICRC's convoy by unknown persons, and calls upon the Attorney-General's office to genuinely investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Public Document
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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
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