The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned on Wednesday a Hamas police force attack on a Palestinian wedding party held on Tuesday in northern Gaza Strip.

The Gaza-based group said in a press release sent to reporters that a Hamas police force stormed a wedding party for al-Madhoun clan because the celebrators raised posters of a family member was killed in June 2007.

Samih al-Madhoun, a Fatah militant was killed by Hamas militants when the Islamic movement seized control of the Gaza Strip by force on June 14, 2007 and routed President Mahmoud Abbas security forces from the enclave.

The PCHR called on the deposed government of Hamas in Gaza to open "a serious investigation and bring the attackers to court," calling on Hamas government "to work on stopping such attacks to happen in the future."

The al-Madhoun family, which applied to PCHR office in Gaza testified that as soon as the celebrators waved the pictures of Samih, a Hamas police force stormed the wedding, beat up people and opened fire in the air.

Samih father Abdel Hakim al-Madhoun told the human rights group that four family members were injured, including two women, adding that most of the participants were beaten by the police.

The PHRC also said that the family refused to remove their son's posters during the wedding ceremony, adding that the police force stormed the wedding after the family members refused to remove the posters.

The Hamas-run ministry of interior had issued instructions that it would use force to stop firing in the air during weddings, while human rights groups called on Hamas to respect the people's desire for a free life.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2009)