On April 20, 2017, CWLRCP in Gaza condemned the heinous murder committed on Tuesday against Ms. Nisreen Abu Hasanein, 43 years old, and extends its sincere condolences to her family. It is noted that the murdered woman lived in the “Ain Jalut” residential towers in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. She was married and a mother of four children. Initial indications suggest that the motive behind the murder was theft, as the perpetrator stabbed her more than 20 times with a knife and then hit her with a butane gas cylinder. He did not stop there but mutilated her body and cut off her ear in order to steal the earring she was wearing.

The Center, while condemning and denouncing this crime, expresses its deep concern about the increasing forms of societal violence in the Gaza Strip, which has reached its peak with the increase in crimes of assault on the lives of women and children from a position of vulnerability. This must be addressed given the seriousness of the matter and the fear of a continued deterioration of the situation towards an increase in crime rates, especially since the circumstances that the Gaza Strip is going through as a result of the political division are considered a fundamental reason for the spread of all crimes, namely the security and economic blockade, high rates of unemployment and poverty, and the accompanying spread of negative phenomena such as drug addiction.

The Center demands that the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip bear its responsibilities and expedite the punishment of the perpetrator, in a way that constitutes a deterrent to anyone who contemplates making light of committing crimes, especially against women, so that the matter does not worsen and the Palestinian social fabric collapses. The Center also demands that there be no leniency in punishing perpetrators in general in crimes of murder and violence in society in general, and crimes committed against women in particular, and to work to publish the results of investigations into crimes directly, in order to constitute a deterrent to criminals, deviants, and anyone who contemplates committing such heinous crimes.

The Center also calls on all political forces, especially Fatah and Hamas, to stand responsibly before what is happening in the Gaza Strip, and to take the necessary step of accelerating the end of the division and restoring national unity, which will enable the Legislative Council, as a unified council, to play its role in issuing deterrent laws related to this, foremost of which is a new penal code. On the other hand, ending the division will contribute to ending the blockade, restoring normal life, and achieving security and safety in the Gaza Strip.