1 Palestinian killed. 1 Israeli killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue. 1 Palestinian dies of injuries received
earlier. IDF bulldozers push 150 yds. into PA-controlled territory nr.
Netzarim settlement to demolish Palestinian agricultural land. The IDF
also shells residential areas of Tulkarm. (NYT 5/8; WP, WT 5/9; al-Quds
5/9 in WNC 5/10; WJW 5/10; LAW 5/11; MA 5/11 in WNC 5/14)
Israel's Public Security Min. says it has drawn up a list of 11 offices
operated by the PA in East Jerusalem, which it plans to close in
the near future to "thwart any activity by the PA infringing on our sovereignty
in Jerusalem." (MA 5/8 in WNC 5/9; WJW 5/10; AYM 5/10 in WNC 5/11)
Dismissing Mitchell Comm.'s conclusion that settlements are a barrier to
peace, Sharon vows to continue expanding Jewish settlements; says
settlements are not illegal because they are built "not on occupied territory,
but disputed territory." The State Dept. says Sharon's plans (announced
5/6) to seek an additional $350 m./yr. for settlement construction "risks
further inflaming the already volatile situation . . . and is provocative."
(NYT, WP 5/9; WP 5/10; MEI 5/18)
1 Jewish settler is fatally
shot nr. Itamar settlement.
Israeli forces demolish 30
bedouin shelters in the Negev on the pretext that they were erected without
permits (see 2/14). (AP, MM 5/8; ITAR-TASS, MENA 5/8 in WNC 5/9; NYT, WP, WT
5/9; AYM 5/9 in WNC 5/13)
In Haifa, a Palestinian attempts to detonate a suicide bomb, but is
injured, captured by Israeli police.
5 Palestinians killed.
The IDF assassinates senior Hamas mbr. Iyad al-Bik, whom Israel
claims is tied to al-Qa`ida, firing 3 missiles at his car as he drives
through Gaza City, causing no other injuries. The IDF fatally shoots 1
Palestinian riding a donkey nr. Nablus; fires on residential areas of Rafah,
killing 1 Palestinian; fires on stone-throwing youths in Balata r.c.,
injuring 5; bulldozes 30 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis; raids the Ramallah
central bus station, arresting a wanted Hamas mbr.; conducts additional arrest
raids in Tulkarm, nearby refugee camps. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian dies of
injuries received on 3/3/03; another Palestinian dies of injuries
received in 4/29/03. (BBC, HA, JP 5/8; HA, NYT, WP 5/9; AYM 5/9
in WNC 5/12; PCHR 5/15)
U.S. officials say that the 11/02 ruling by a secretive 3-judge
federal appeals panel interpreting the 2001 Patriot Act as permitting the use of
classified wiretaps and intelligence reports fr. foreign security agencies
against terrorism suspects has allowed the FBI to intensify greatly its
decades old investigations of alleged U.S. supporters of Hamas,
Hizballah. Investigations reportedly have been focusing on U.S. mosques. (WP
5/8)
Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF patrol nr.
Kefar Darom, luring an IDF tank to the scene; a Palestinian suicide bomber
drives up to the tank, detonates a car bomb, killing only himself; no IDF
soldiers are injured in the incident; the IDF demolishes a PSF office in
retaliation. Palestinians fire a mortar at a Jewish settlement in
Gaza, causing no damage or injuries.
The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Jalazun r.c., wounding
2; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Jenin, Rafah; demolishes 1
Palestinian home nr. Khan Yunis; bulldozes 14 dunams of land in Rafah.
Around 15 armed masked men raid the PC offices in Gaza City, then
destroy the Fatah headquarters in Bureij r.c., in both cases destroying
furniture and equipment but making no demands. (MA, VOP, YA 5/8 in WNC 5/11; PR
5/12; PCHR 5/13)
The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askara nr. Bethlehem,
Burkin nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Neve Dekalim seize 18 d. of
Palestinian lands in al-Mawasi in s. Gaza. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham
Avino chase Palestinians, throw stones at Palestinian homes in Hebron. The
IDF jails the 1st IDF reservist, Arkadi Moter (who is also a Jewish
settler) for refusing to serve in protest of Gaza disengagement. Separately, the
IDF places a Jewish settler, Niria Ofen, in administrative detention
until 9/30/05 for suspected militant activity related to disengagement. (JAZ, MM, NYT, WP 5/9; AP, MM, NYT 5/10; AP, OCHA, PR 5/11;
PCHR 5/12)
PA
police reportedly fire on the car of Jenin AMB head Muhammad Abu Araj,
hitting him in the leg; AMB mbrs. return fire, without causing injuries. Armed
AMB mbrs. shut down the central Gaza PA Central Election Comm. (CEC)
offices apparently in effort to overturn what they call "fraudulent election
returns" in Bureij, Rafah that favor Hamas. Later they occupy the CEC
offices in Bayt Lahiya, where Hamas already officially had been declared winner,
and refuse to leave.
The IDF shells n. Gaza, wounding 2 Palestinians outside the Bayt Lahiya
hospital; raids several shops, homes, and the General Union of Palestinian
Workers and the Union of Ex-Combatants offices in Hebron; fires on residential
areas of nearby Halhul; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around
Jenin, Nablus (exchanging gunfire with Palestinian gunmen in Askar r.c.,
wounding 1), in Jericho, and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. (BBC, MM, NYT, WP, WT
5/8; MM 5/9; PCHR 5/11)
In a predawn incident in
Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, AMB mbrs. kidnap 3 Hamas mbrs., and Hamas mbrs. kidnap 4
AMB mbrs. (it is unclear who kidnapped whom first), sparking a heavy exchange of
fire, with Hamas mbrs. firing an antitank rocket killing 2 AMB mbrs. and Fatah
shooting dead 1 Hamas mbr.; some 10 Palestinians, mostly bystanders, are
wounded; those kidnapped are released after negotiations.
The IDF demolishes a home for Palestinian special needs children in Wadi
al-Juz, East Jerusalem, displacing 7 children, 2 caregivers; demolishes a
Palestinian home in Issawiyya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and
around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Hebron, and in Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Nablus.
Jewish settlers fr. Harish settlement nr. Tulkarm set fire to 170 d. of
Palestinian-owned olive, citrus trees. (OCHA 5/9; PCHR
5/10; OCHA 5/16)
In Rafah, 50 Fatah mbrs. break into,
vandalize, set fire to the empty al-Salafiyya al-Bayan Center.
1 Palestinian killed.
In Gaza, a Palestinian teenager shot
by the IDF during its 5/7 Abasan raid dies. In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts late night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. As has occurred
on numerous occasions since Israel’s 2005 disengagement, 100s of Jewish
settlers temporarily set up tents at the site of the evacuated Homesh settlement
in the c. West Bank, vowing to rebuild the settlement and challenge any
government efforts to remove additional settlements; the IDF closes off
Palestinian traffic to the area and observes, but does not intervene. (PCHR
5/15)
Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah makes a speech accusing Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora’s
government of launching a war against Hizballah, warning of increased
conflict if the 5/6 decisions are not reversed. Soon after, Hizballah sends
more gunmen into Beirut’s streets and clashes intensify, especially in the mixed
Sunni-Shi`i neighborhoods of Mazra`a and Ras al-Naba`a, and include machine gun
and RPG fire, leaving 6 Lebanese dead, 8 wounded. (BBC 5/8; NYT, WP, WT
5/9; Asia Times 5/13)
Israeli navy ships opened fire at fishing boats off the shore near Gaza City. The boats were damaged, but there were no injuries. Six hours later Israeli ships opened fire on fishing boats near the coast of Tel Al-Sultan in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli troops seized three Palestinians during a raid in Bethlehem. (Ma’an News Agency)
The Israeli military fired a number of artillery shells towards the eastern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. (Ma’an News Agency)
Pope Benedict XVI expressed hope that his visit and the power of the Catholic Church could help further peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians. “We are not a political power but a spiritual power that can contribute,” Pope Benedict had told reporters on the plane before he landed in Amman as part of his first trip to the region. He will also visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory during his week-long tour. (AP)
During the course of their week-long session in Geneva, the four members of the Independent fact-finding mission established on 3 April 2009 by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the context of the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, held initial meetings with a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including UN Member States and representatives of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. The mission also established its terms of reference and a three-month programme of work. In the course of its work, the mission intends to conduct visits to affected areas of southern Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza, and has requested the cooperation of the Government of Israel in this regard. “I would like to emphasize that we will focus our investigation not on political considerations, but on an objective and impartial analysis of compliance of the parties to the conflict with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, especially their responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians and non-combatants,” Justice Goldstone said. (www.unhchr.ch)