1 Palestinian killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes, now in their 8th mo., continue, with
Israel Defense Force (IDF) increasingly striking Palestinian targets and
entering areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) without
provocation so as to "keep them guessing and [have] them spend more time
defending themselves" and with Palestinians stepping up their sniping at
soldiers and settlers and firing of mortars (especially in Gaza). To date,
around 511 Palestinians, 82 Israelis have been killed. Today, 1 Palestinian
is shot dead by IDF troops. The IDF also shells the PA Preventive
Security Force (PSF) offices in Jabaliyya, Jinin; directs shells, heavy
machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis; sends tanks, bulldozers
into 2 PA-controlled areas in Gaza, occupying a multistory building in al-Qarara
nr. Gush Katif settlement and a factory in Dayr al-Balah. IDF soldiers at
a checkpoint on the Nablus+nRamallah road halt a Red Crescent ambulance
en route to pick up a critically ill patient, severely beat 3 medics, empty the
ambulance and damage supplies; the harassment ends when the International
Comm. of the Red Cross (ICRC) intervenes. (AFP [Internet], HP 5/16; MM, NYT,
PCHR, WP, WT 5/17; LAW, WT 5/18)
The IDF concedes that the 5/14 attack on a PSF post in Beitunia
that left 5 PSF officers dead was a "blunder" and that the area was quiet when
soldiers attacked. (WP 5/17; AN, HJ 5/17 in WNC 5/18, 5/21; HA, NYT 5/18)
PA Information M Yasir `Abid Rabbuh appeals to Congress to support
the recommendations of the Mitchell Comm., the U.S.-led international
inquiry into the causes of the al-Aqsa intifada headed by fmr. U.S. sen.
George Mitchell. The comm.'s preliminary report (submitted to Israel and the
PA on 5/1) suggests a two-pronged approach to restoring calm based on Israel
halting all settlement construction, the PA making a 100% effort to halt
violence. The comm.'s final report is expected in 1 wk. The State Dept.
says Secy. of State Colin Powell is considering meeting with Sharon,
Arafat on the sidelines of his trip to Africa, Europe 5/22+n30. (WT 5/18) (see
Peace Monitor)
In Washington, U.S. Pres. George W. Bush holds a strategy session on
the Middle East with his top foreign policy advisers, including Secy. of State
Powell, Secy. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, National Security
Adviser (NSA) Condoleeza Rice. Powell advocates using the recommendations of
the Mitchell Comm. and the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative as the
base for a cease-fire plan (see Peace Monitor in JPS 120). Both plans
call for a full freeze on settlement construction, which admin. officials claim
they cannot directly demand from Israeli PM Ariel Sharon. (MM 5/16; MM,
NYT 5/17)
Palestinians stepping up their sniping at
soldiers and settlers and firing of mortars (especially in Gaza).
2 Palestinians killed.
Israeli-Palestinian violence continues at a moderate level. The Israel
Defense Force (IDF) continues to surround all major Palestinian population
centers in the West Bank, barring travel btwn. towns and villages except through
heavily guarded checkpoints. The IDF raids Beitunia, assassinating a
wanted Preventive Security Force (PSF) officer Ahmad Ghanem, arresting 3
others; makes arrest raids in al-Irsal nr. Ramallah; conducts house-to-house
searches in Tallusa nr. Nablus; bulldozes 20 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of
Palestinian agricultural land in Gaza. 1 Palestinian dies of injuries
received on 4/30. Late this evening, troops make incursions into al-Bireh,
Tulkarm refugee camp (r.c.) and city. (LAW 5/16; AP, NYT, WP, WT 5/17; NYT, WP,
WT 5/18; LAW 5/22)
Palestinian Authority (PA) head Yasir Arafat pledges to hold
presidential, parliamentary elections within 6 mos., provided that Israel
makes a substantial withdrawal fr. the West Bank and Gaza so that Palestinians
can move freely to the polls. (HA, MM 5/16; XIN 5/16 in WNC 5/17; NYT, WP, WT
5/17; QA 5/18, MA 5/20 in WNC 5/21)
1 Palestinian killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues operations in Bayt Hanun
(see 5/15), where a roadside bomb explodes nr. an IDF tank, lightly injuring 1
soldier; fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian nr. Nablus who
refuses orders to halt; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Nablus, 1 in
Rafah. (see Quarterly Update in JPS 126). (HA 5/16; PMC, WT
5/17; HA 5/19; LAW, PCHR 5/22)
Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, inside
Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In Umm al-Fahm, 100s of Israeli Arabs
attend a rally organized by the Islamic Movement to protest the 5/13
arrest of 15 senior mbrs. Israel also banishes a West Bank Palestinian
to Gaza for 1 yr., accusing him of having aided his brother in committing
“terrorist attacks”
3 Palestinians killed.
As Israeli-Palestinian tensions continue to run high in Gaza, the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) fatally shoots 3 Palestinians who enter a closed
military zone nr. Gaza’s border with Israel; fires missiles at 3 sites in Gaza
City (the local Fatah headquarters, Hamas’s al-Risala
newspaper, an electrical transformer), cutting electricity to part of the city,
wounding at least 3 Palestinian children. Gaza crossings into Israel remain
closed for the 8th consecutive week. Rejecting a 5/15 petition by a Palestinian
human rights group, the Israeli High Court says the IDF may widen the
Philadelphi Route buffer zone along the Gaza border with Egypt, potentially
demolishing 100s of Palestinian homes, ruling that the army has a “real,
imminent need” to do so. The IDF announces over loudspeakers in Rafah’s
Bloc O section, where much bulldozing has occurred, that Palestinians have 24
hrs. to evacuate their homes; fires on residential areas to encourage
Palestinians to leave. The International Comm. of the Red Cross begins
setting up a tent camp in Rafah able to provide emergency housing for 1,500
Palestinians left homeless by IDF bulldozing operations in the past wk. and
those fleeing in fear of further demolitions. In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha refugee camp (r.c.) nr.
Bethlehem, begins bulldozing 45 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of Palestinian land
nr. Jerusalem for a new segment of the separation wall. (AFP, NYT, WP, WT
5/16; AFP, MM, NYT 5/17; VOP 5/17 in WNC 5/19; PCHR 5/20)
2 Palestinians killed.
With implementation of Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan to
evacuate troops and settlers fr. Gaza and 4 West Bank settlements slated to
begin in mid-8/05, some 1,500 right-wing Israeli disengagement
protesters, mostly young Jewish settlers, try to block around 100
intersections across Israel in one of the largest demonstrations to date.
Israeli police deploy 1,000s of officers to keep roads open, demonstrations
peaceful; arrest around 400 protesters. In the occupied territories, the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fatally shoots a Palestinian who
allegedly attempts to stab a solider at a checkpoint outside Tulkarm
(Palestinian observers dispute this, saying the man was angry, but merely
approached the soldiers to question delays at the checkpoint); conducts arrest
raids, house searches in Askar refugee camp (r.c.; targeting wanted al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade [AMB] mbrs), al-Mughayyir n. of Ramallah, Sawahara e. of
Jerusalem. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim bulldoze 30 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1
acre) of olive trees nr. Qalqilya. A Palestinian dies of injuries
received earlier. (IMEMC, MM, PRCS 5/16; JTA, MM 5/17; OCHA, PR, WP 5/18; PCHR
5/19)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue Operation
Southern Arrow, with heavy shelling and air strikes on Gaza in response to
Palestinian rocket fire (at a rate of 10 Israeli strikes per 1 Palestinian
rocket attack) and tight restrictions on Gaza’s crossings. The IDF also continues to separate the n. and s. West Bank by
closing (since 4/21) the Zatara checkpoint s. of Nablus and to restrict movement
into and out of the n. Jordan Valley. Today, the IDF patrols in ‘Araba nr. Jenin, firing on residential areas; conducts
arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Nablus. (MM 5/16; NYT, PCHR 5/18)
Palestinians in the West Bank
and Gaza continue to suffer severe economic shortages due to the U.S.-and
Israeli-led economic sanctions on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) that
have prevented the PA from paying government workers’ salaries for 2 mos. Islamic Jihad fires its 2d
Grad rocket fr. Gaza toward Ashqelon, damaging a poultry farm but causing no
injuries (see 3/28, 4/21). A Hamas mbr. is killed in a drive- by shooting in
Gaza City; no group claims responsibility.
5 Palestinians killed.
As part of an ongoing crackdown
on Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) makes an air
strike on a Rafah building controlled by the Executive Support Force (ESF)—a branch of the Palestinian
Authority (PA) Interior Min. loyal to Hamas-affiliated
PM Ismail Haniyeh—killing 3 ESF mbrs. and wounding at least 21 ESF mbrs., 3 members of the Fatah-
affiliated PA Preventive Security Force (PSF) in
a PSF office nearby, 3 bystanders (including 2 journalists). Israeli PM Ehud Olmert
convenes his security cabinet which authorizes the IDF to carry out
“severe and harsh” attacks on Gaza, including assassinations of resistance
leaders, to prevent further rocket fire, effectively ending the 11/26/06 Gaza cease-fire, frequently violated by both
sides. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids in al-
Til nr. Tulkarm (deliberately setting
fire to a Palestinian home, damaging 5 others), neighboring Allar, and in and around Balata r.c. and
Nablus. Jewish settlers fire on Palestinian
homes in Bayt Furik nr. Nablus, causing no injuries; the IDF intervenes, removes the settlers. (BBC, HA, REU
5/16; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 5/17; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR
5/24)
Hamas mbrs. fire
12 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a home in Sederot, moderately injuring 1 Israeli, and hitting a
transformer, cutting electricity to 24,000 residents. The IDF responds with an air strike on a house nr. Jabaliya
refugee camp
(r.c.), killing 2 Hamas mbrs., wounding 3.
In Gaza, factional fighting btwn. Fatah, Hamas (ongoing since PA Pres. Mahmud
Abbas [Fatah] deployed 1,000s of PA security forces under his control
without coordinating with either independent Interior M Hani al-Qawasmi, who resigned in protest, or ESF
cmdrs. on the ground) escalates sharply, particularly in Gaza City, leaving at least 20 Palestinians dead, 10s
wounded, and a number of Fatah and Hamas mbrs. kidnapped. Among the incidents: an Egyptian official
is fatally shot by Fatah mbrs. while walking the streets of Rafah with Fatah
and Change and Reform legislators to test the intra-Palestinian cease-fire
declared on 5/15; Hamas mbrs. ambush a PSF vehicle not knowing that it is
transporting Hamas detainees, killing 5 Hamas mbrs., 2 PSF mbrs.; Fatah makes a
retaliatory strike on an ESF post outside the Interior Min.’s offices in Gaza
City, firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), killing 4 ESF mbrs.; some 200 Hamas mbrs. attack and occupy the home of
PA internal security head Rashid
Abu Shibak (who is not home at the time), killing at least 4 bodyguards;
Hamas mbrs. fire mortars at Abbas’s Gaza residence, causing no injuries;
Hamas mbrs. fire antitank rockets at the PA General
Intelligence base nr. Shati’ r.c. (After Fatah’s attacks today, the ESF, which has largely remained in its
barracks, deploys “to respond with all our power”
to further attacks.) Among the wounded are 8 Palestinian civilians among 200
who turned out in Gaza City to protest the interfactional violence and who
placed themselves btwn. Fatah and Hamas gunmen to prevent further clashes. Palestinians in Ramallah observe a 1-day general strike to protest
the factional violence. Midday, Hamas announces a unilateral cease-fire to
begin at 8:00 p.m. local time, and Abbas calls on Fatah mbrs. to follow
suit, but gun battles resume within hrs., leaving 2 Fatah mbrs. dead, 10 Palestinians wounded (included in totals
above). Israeli
Vice PM Shimon Peres says that Israel would respond favorably if Abbas
asked for assistance in quelling the violence.
Israeli Air Force airplanes carried out two raids on Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported. Three civilians were wounded, one of them seriously, during a third raid on the same area. (WAFA)
Dozens of settlers from the "Yitzhar" settlement in the West Bank rioted in the Asira al-Kabaliya village, causing extensive damage to property and beating up several Palestinians. According to the settlers, Palestinians from a nearby village provoked the clash. A similar incident had taken place two weeks earlier. (Ynetnews)
Israeli forces detained a Palestinian, 22-year-old Ahmed Nasser Abu Al-Kalbat, in Nablus. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israel Radio reported that Israel had asked Egypt to incorporate a deal to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in the ceasefire talks with Hamas being mediated by Egypt, which were due to resume the next week. A spokesperson for Hamas, Aiman Taha, confirmed that Hamas had delayed its visit to Cairo in connection with the ceasefire negotiations mediated by Omar Suleiman, Egypt's Intelligence Chief. He added that Hamas had not ruled out releasing Cpl. Shalit but that this involved conditions that differed from those currently set out in the ceasefire negotiations. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Farzi Barhoum said that the organization was ready to conclude talks on releasing Shalit as soon as possible but that the issue was unconnected to the Gaza ceasefire. (Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency, The Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Government spokesman Mark Regev stated, "This demand, which does not exist under international law, for the [Palestine refugees'] right of return, is the ultimate deal breaker. You cannot have peace and this demand at the same time." Mr. Regev acknowledged the suffering of Palestine refugees but insisted that PA President Abbas must abandon their claims if he wanted a Palestinian State. He said: "The so-called right of return is antithetical to a two-State solution." (Reuters)
Israel Radio reported that the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations sought clarifications regarding the use of the word "Nakba" by a spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General at a press briefing. She is reported to have said that the Secretary-General had telephoned PA President Mahmoud Abbas to express his empathy with the Palestinian people on the day they mark the Nakba. Israel's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations was quoted as saying that the term was a tool of Arab propaganda used to undermine the legitimacy of the establishment of the State of Israel and must not be a part of the lexicon of the United Nations. (Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)
Unknown assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian school in Gaza City, without causing injuries. The same school had been ransacked in June 2007. (Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post)
PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad stated that the Palestine Investment Conference, to be held in Bethlehem from 21 to 23 May 2008, promised to be a historic event. Mr. Fayyad said that it would jumpstart a process of integrating Palestine into the global economy. He said that the conference would also provide an opportunity to showcase the many promising investment opportunities in Palestine while strengthening public-private partnerships and reforming the economy. (www.pic-palestine.ps)
Egypt opened its borders with the Gaza Strip for two days to allow the departure of a number of Palestinians travelling to Egypt for medical treatment, along with students and holders of foreign passports and residence permits, Hamas authorities said. (DPA)
The US was shortly expected to announce a new plan to jump-start the Middle East peace talks, Jordan's King Abdullah II told AFP in an interview. "And we hope that [Washington] will announce this plan as soon as possible, because lost time undermines the chances for peace,” he said. (AFP)
King Abdullah II of Jordan had bestowed the Istiqlal Medal of the First Order on UNRWA in recognition of the Agency's 60 years of service to Palestine refugees. UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd received the award on the agency's behalf, following a meeting with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. King Abdullah said that Jordan would continue its support for UNRWA, and noted that the Jordan Armed Forces field hospital in Gaza will continue to complement the work that UNRWA is doing. During the meeting, the King also emphasized the refugees' rights to return and compensation. (www.unrwa.org)
Fatah and Hamas had begun a new round of reconciliation talks in Cairo, the MENA news agency said. "We can discuss with Fatah all the options ... which do not contradict our national goals and the rights of our people, except the American card, which stresses recognition of the Zionist entity and the conditions of the Quartet," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in Gaza. "This is not open for discussion." (AFP)