2 Palestinians killed. 1 Israeli killed.
Israel-Palestinian clashes
continue in the West Bank and Gaza, leaving 1 Palestinian, 1 Jewish
settler dead. A 3d Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. The
IDF takes over a Palestinian home in PA-controlled Dayr al-Balah
for use as a new IDF post, displacing a family of 12. (AP 4/22; AP, MM, NYT, WP,
WT 4/23; AN, JT, SA 4/23 in WNC 4/25; al-Quds 4/25 in WNC 4/30)
Israeli
FM Peres confirms reports that he has been holding secret talks with
PA officials with Sharon's permission, but he gives no details. PC
speaker and PA senior negotiator Ahmad Qurai` says he and Peres have been
discussing the Jordanian-Egyptian nonpaper. (NYT 4/23; AYM 4/24 in WNC 4/25; NYT
4/25)
A Palestinian suicide bomber kills himself, 1 Israeli civilian and
wounds around 40 others at a bus stop in Kefar Saba, outside Tel Aviv. Though
the Popular Army Front+nReturn Battalions claims responsibility,
Israel blames the PA directly. Later, a bomb goes off in Haifa,
slightly wounding 3 Israeli police officers.
5 Palestinians killed. 1 Israeli killed.
An IDF soldier is killed during a raid on a village nr. Nablus; a
total of 5 Palestinians are killed by the IDF during the day,
including senior AMB mbr. Marwan Zallum who is assassinated in Hebron. In Bethlehem, a serious exchange of
gunfire is reported nr. the Church of the Nativity; the IDF
confiscates the credentials of 17 journalists trying to approach the
area. The IDF lifts the curfew in Dahaysha for 3+n4 hrs. (AP, HA, Israeli
Trade Min. press release, MM 4/22; NYT, WP, WT 4/23; Le Monde, al-Quds
4/23 in WNC 4/24; NYT, WP, WT 4/24; QA 4/24 in WNC 4/25; MA 4/26 in WNC 4/29; MM
4/30; MEI 5/3)
In
his Ramallah compound, Arafat opens a military trial of 4 PFLP mbrs. (not
including PFLP head Ahmad Saadat) wanted by Israel for involvement in the
Ze'evi assassination; AMB gunmen fire on 3 Palestinian collaborators
in Manara Square, killing 1, wounding 2.
The IDF conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Hebron; bulldozes 34
dunams of land in Abasan. The IDF also detains an ISM activist, an
Italian journalist for photographing soldiers detaining Palestinian
women, children in Nur al-Shams r.c.—the 1st implementation of a new policy,
aimed at ISM in particular, to bar pro-Palestinian activists fr. entering Israel
and the territories, deport those already there. (HA 4/23; GS, LAW, PCHR 4/24)
6 Palestinians killed.
Fearing an Israeli attack, Arafat expels 20 wanted AMB mbrs.
fr. his Ramallah headquarters, where they have been hiding for several mos. in
fear the IDF will assassinate them. Later in Tulkarm r.c., the IDF
fatally shoots 3 AMB mbrs. in an apparent assassination but it is not
known whether they were among the 20 fr. Ramallah. In continuing clashes in Bayt
Lahiya, the IDF fatally shoots a 9-yr.-old Palestinian girl and a
16-yr.-old Palestinian boy, bulldozes a center for handicapped
Palestinians and 1 Palestinian home; a 4-yr.-old Palestinian girl
dies of tear gas inhalation. The IDF also sends tanks, 25 bulldozers into
Rafah, demolishing 22 Palestinian homes completely and 2 partially,
leaving 60 families homeless; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Dayr
al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in
Tubas. (AFP, BBC, MM, PCHR 4/22; MA, VOI, YA 4/22 in WNC 4/24; AFP, NYT, WP 4/23;
VOI, YA 4/23 in WNC 4/27; NYT, WP, WT 4/24; PR 4/28; PCHR 4/29; PR 5/5)
Palestinians fire an antitank missile at an IDF post outside Kefar
Darom settlement, seriously injuring 2 IDF soldiers. The IDF retaliates
by tearing up nearby Palestinian farmland with tanks, ordering a Palestinian
family to evacuate their home. Late in the evening, unidentified assailants
attack, severely beat AFP photographer Jamal Aruri outside his Ramallah
home.
The IDF temporarily bars traffic on the main north–south Gaza road for
a 2d day; occupies 2 Palestinian homes in the Old City of Hebron as military
outposts; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura; bulldozes Palestinian
land nr. Kefar Darom settlement in Gaza; temporarily occupies a Palestinian home
nr. Ramallah as an observation post; bulldozes a stand of olive trees along a
road nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers severely beat 2 Palestinians in Hebron.
(IMEMC 4/23; VOP 4/23 in WNC 4/26; OCHA 4/27; PCHR 4/28)
The IDF tightens restrictions on Palestinians traveling btwn. the n. and s.
West Bank; bars 100s of Armenian worshipers from processing to the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate Orthodox Easter; sends troops back into
Nablus, where they fire on stone-throwing youths who confront them,wounding 3
stone-throwers and a journalist covering the clashes; conducts arrest raids,
house searches in Hebron. Dozens of Jewish settlers attempting to break into a
Palestinian store in Hebron attack, beat 2 female international peace activists
blocking their way; the IDF intervenes to halt the attack. Jewish settlers fr.
Ma’on ambush and stone an IDF jeep escorting Palestinian school children to
school along a road that passes by the settlement, detaining the jeep and
children for an hour until IDF reinforcements arrive. Jewish settlers fr.
Yitzhar set fire to 2 new trucks and a generator at a private Palestinian quarry
nr. Nablus.
In Gaza City, al-Azhar University students backing Fatah and
rallying in support of Abbas’s 4/21 veto of Siyam’s security decisions occupy a
campus building, unfurl a Fatah banner, stone students at neighboring Islamic
University, largely supportive of Hamas, who throw stones back; Fatah, Hamas
cadres join the clashes, exchanging gunfire, leaving 20 Palestinians wounded. In
the West Bank, some 4,000 Fatah supporters take part in several rallies
supporting Abbas and denouncing Mishal (see 4/21). Hamas, Fatah leaders meet
late in the evening to restore calm. (HA, PCHR, WP 4/23; MM, WT 4/24; PCHR 4/27;
HA 4/30)
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF makes an air strike on a car nr. Jabaliya r.c. carrying Islamic Jihad
mbrs. who had fired rockets toward Israel (causing no damage), missing the
vehicle and causing no damage; within the hr., the IDF makes a 2d air strike on
a car in the same area, killing 1 Palestinian with no known resistance
connections. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Ramallah,
killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian boy; evicts some 80 Palestinians fr. Hadidiyya
in the n. Jordan Valley (the Israeli High Court ruled on 1/3 that they posed a
security threat to Jewish settlers in nearby Ro’i settlement; confiscates 169 d. of Palestinian land nr. Tulkarm for
construction of the separation wall; imposes a curfew on Hawara nr. Nablus;
conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Nablus. (WP 4/23; BBC, MM, WT 4/24; OCHA 4/25; PCHR 4/26)
Citing 9 killings in 2 days, Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades
declares an end to its observance of the 11/26/06 cease-fire, though PM Haniyeh
says that the PA still has every intention of making it work. During the day,
Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. A
Palestinian gunman fires on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hizma checkpoint into
Jerusalem, injuring a settler and a Palestinian bystander. In Jabaliya r.c., PRC
mbrs. abduct 5 Palestinians, including 2 ESF mbrs., exchanging fire with the ESF
that leaves 1 of the abductees dead and sparks local demonstrations. In Gaza
City, armed mbrs. of a local clan attack an ESF base, injuring 1 ESF mbr.,
kidnapping another (who is released later in the day after the PA intervenes).
In Khan Yunis, a PA security officer is carjacked, wounded by unidentified
assailants.
In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike
on a car carrying 2 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. nr. Khan Yunis,
missing it, wounding 6 bystanders. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing
Palestinian youths outside Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, wounding 5 with live
ammunition; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around
Nablus, in Qabatya, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Israel
bars access to the Jordan River to 15,000 Christians making a pilgrimage to
Jesus’s baptismal cite to mark Orthodox Christian Holy Week, keeping them
behind a fence 30 ft. fr. the river. (OCHA,
WT 4/23; PCHR 4/24)
Gazan PC mbrs. erect a tent in front
of the PC headquarters in Gaza City, begin a hunger strike to protest Israel’s
ongoing siege.
Birzeit University student council
elections allot 25 seats to Fatah, 19 to Hamas, 5 each to the PFLP
and a joint Islamic Jihad/People's Party list. Students clash over the
results, prompting the university to close the campus until tensions cool.
Four Palestinians were injured when ordinance left by the Israeli military exploded in Gaza City. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli forces seized eight Palestinians during overnight raids in Bethlehem, Tuqu village, and Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Mr. Liberman expressed his respect and appreciation for Egypt’s leading role in the region and his personal respect for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Minister Suleiman.” (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee: “We will not deal with nor in any way fund a Palestinian Government that includes Hamas unless and until Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel and agrees to follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian Authority.” Mrs. Clinton said she had made the US position clear during conversations with Arab and other allies. “We want to leave the door open” to including Hamas, Mrs. Clinton said. “From everything we hear, there is no intention on the part of Hamas to meet those conditions, but these are not just American conditions. These are the conditions that were adopted by the Quartet,” she added. (Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the Arab peace initiative was "dangerous" because it required Israel to allow Palestinian refugees to return, according to an Israeli official. He said: "The Foreign Minister has nevertheless not rejected the initiative as a whole". (AFP)
The Jerusalem Municipality demolished a Palestinian house in the Jabal Mukabber neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, saying it had been built without a permit. In the Jetit area, south-west of Nablus, Israeli military bulldozers demolished eight Palestinian houses. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli prison guards assaulted a group of Palestinian prisoners while they were chained inside a military vehicle. According to Jawad Al-Amawi, Director of Legal Affairs at the PA Ministry of Prisoners Affairs, Israeli wardens tried to force one of the prisoners to wear an orange uniform. When he refused, prison services summoned a crisis intervention team who hurled tear gas canisters into the vehicle and then beat them. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, Yuval Diskin, as his special envoy for the prisoner negotiations after the previous envoy, Ofer Dekel, stepped down the previous day. (AFP)
The IDF announced that an internal investigation had determined that no civilians were purposefully harmed by IDF troops during “Operation Cast Lead” in the Gaza Strip. The inquiries were performed by five IDF colonels who had not been involved in the fighting in Gaza. They examined reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, medical personnel and facilities, United Nations facilities, and also the use of white phosphorous. The inquiries, which were supervised by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, did find cases of civilians killed by mistaken fire on the part of IDF troops, but said the incidents were isolated. Following the release of the investigation results, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the army's willingness to probe itself once again proved that the IDF was one of the most moral armies in the world. The most glaring case of mistaken fire found by the inquiry was the attack on the Al-Dahiyeh family home, in the neighbourhood of Zeitoun, in which 21 members of the same family had been killed. The IDF had called the incident "regretful", but said it resulted from "an operational mistake that is bound to happen during intensive fighting." Israeli Human rights group B'Tselem called the IDF investigation flawed and said it "does not answer the need for an independent inquiry outside the army that would look at the whole range of violations the army is incapable of looking at." (Haaretz)
Following a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, King Abdullah II of Jordan called for the formation of an Arab/Islamic task force charged with backing up the United States in efforts to reach a peace agreement in the Middle East. He said a serious and speedy set of negotiations to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be launched. (Ma’an News Agency)
A survey released by OneVoice, a pro-peace group, and conducted by two leading polling groups in Israel and the Palestinian Territory, found that Israelis and Palestinians remained overwhelmingly in favour of a two-State solution as the best way to end their decades-long conflict. (onevoicemovement.org)
The Hamas delegation from Gaza was scheduled to leave for Damascus where they would meet their counterparts in Syria and finalize positions on several Egyptian suggestions regarding reconciliation and a transitional government. Hamas had prepared its vision on how to resolve the “suspended” issues from the last round of talks. Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that at the top of the list was defining a position on Egypt’s suggestion of forming a Higher Council with which both the West Bank and Gaza Strip Governments would coordinate. The Council would be charged with reconstructing Gaza and preparing legislative elections for 25 January 2010. He explained that if elections took place at the scheduled time, then “the destiny of the current Government will be decided [by the people].” If the elections were put off, he added, factions in Gaza would meet to discuss the next stage. (Ma’an News Agency)
Delegations from around the world would be arriving in Bil’in the following day for the fourth annual conference on non-violent resistance to discuss, compare and analyze the use of popular resistance in the Palestinian Territory. Presenters from the European Union and South Africa would speak alongside presenters from Bil’in, Na’lin, Al-Ma’asara, Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, where Palestinians had been exploring methods of resistance to the separation wall construction, land confiscation and home demolition orders by Israel. Major Palestinian factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian National Initiative and Fatah, would be represented, as well as other groups. (Ma’an News Agency)
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that economic recovery in the Gaza Strip was at a standstill due to the ongoing blockade of materials, spare parts and transfers of cash. Meanwhile, UNRWA warned cases of acute diarrhoea among children under the age of three had topped the alert threshold for the second time this year. Test results had shown contamination in 14 per cent of water samples, and there were concerns that water could be further tainted by the residue of toxic munitions. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) noted that unemployment in Gaza had risen from 36 per cent before the military operation to 43 per cent. Poverty among the unemployed had also increased from 56 per cent to 66 per cent. (UN News Centre)
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry deplored the demolition of a home in East Jerusalem while on a visit to sites where Palestinian homes had either been destroyed or were being targeted for demolition. (UN News Centre)