PCHR strongly condemns the irresponsible attack on the local weekly al-Resala on Friday morning, 14 January 2005.

According to information available to PCHR, at approximately 00:30 on Friday, 14 January 2005, a number of unknown people fired and threw a hand grenade at offices of the weekly al-Reslala in Gaza City. The offices were damaged in the attack.

Al-Resala is a licensed weekly newspaper published by the Islamic National Salvation Party in Gaza City. Offices of the newspaper were subject to Israeli shelling in the past. The newspaper was also subject to arbitrary measures by the Palestinian police for articles and positions it had published; PCHR considered these measures an attack on freedom of expression and opinion.

PCHR is gravely concerned at this latest attack, which comes in the context of a series of attacks by irresponsible people to damage the right of the freedom of expression and opinion. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian security services to search for the perpetrators of this attack and bring them to justice.