Unidentified armed men target UN club in Gaza

On Sunday morning, 1 January 2006, unknown armed persons blew up UNRWA Beach Club in Gaza City. The club and a nearby site of the Palestinian Civil Defense were severely damaged. A few hours later, another armed group kidnapped a member of a European Parliament delegation visiting Khan Yunis. PCHR is concerned that the ultimate goal of such crimes is to convulse the internal security and security to cancel or interrupt the upcoming elections or hold them under unfair conditions.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 02:00 on Sunday, 1 January 2006, unknown armed persons got out of a civilian car that has no registration plate and attacked and handcuffed the guard of UNRWA Beach Club. Then, they broke into the club, planted two explosive devices and blew them up by remote control. The roof was destroyed, and offices, meeting halls, the kitchen, the video library, the gymnasium hall, the cafeteria and the bar were severely damaged. The wall separating between the club and a neighboring site of the Palestinian Civil Defense was also destroyed and the hydraulic stairs used for extinguishing fire and a water pump were damaged. Perpetrators and reasons of the attack are still unknown.

It is worth noting that the Beach Club, which was established in the 1950s, serves UNRWA international and local staff. However, the international staff members no longer go to it at night due to the current security situation in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA has increased the level of danger up to little below the maximum level and has instructed its international staff members whose work does not require their presence in the Gaza Strip to leave it towards Jerusalem and carry out their duties from there. This decision has been taken in light of the kidnappings of a number of workers of international humanitarian and relief organizations and journalists in the past few months.

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