3 Palestinians killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, leaving 3 Palestinians dead.
The IDF attempts to assassinate Fatah tanzim leader `Abd
al-Karim Owais by firing 5 missiles fr. a helicopter at his car as he drives
through Jinin, killing 1 passenger and 1 bystander, wounding 17 (mostly students
returning home fr. school); Owais, 3 other passengers escape after the 1st
rocket misses the car. Over 10,000 Palestinians attend the funeral of the 2
killed, call for more attacks on Israeli targets. Palestinians fire 6
mortars at 2 Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no damage. In response, the
IDF shells al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 10;
sends tanks into and fires on Khan Yunis, damaging a cemetery that the IDF
claims was the source of mortar fire. For the 3d day, Jewish settlers in
Hebron attack, injure 4 Palestinians (ages 3, 6, 13, 37). Settlers also
establish a new settlement outpost nr. Kochav Hasachar settlement. (HP 5/12;
LAW, NYT, WP, WT 5/13; al-Quds 5/13 in WNC 5/15; PCHR 5/17; LAW, MEI
5/18)
Palestinians fire 6
mortars at 2 Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no damage.
1 Israeli killed.
In Gaza, a Palestinian fatally shoots his Jewish settler
employer. (WP 5/13)
4 Palestinians killed.
The IDF fatally shoots 2 AMB mbrs. laying a roadside bomb nr.
the Rafah border; fatally shoots a Palestinian farmer tilling a field nr.
Khan Yunis; raids a hospital in Nablus, closing it for 3 hrs., but leaving
without arresting anyone; conducts arrest raids in Nablus (targeting the
tanzim), Qalqilya (targeting the PFLP). A Palestinian dies
of injuries received earlier. Jewish settlers set up a tent at the site
of the fatal 5/5 shooting of a Jewish settler on the Nablus–Ramallah road,
vowing to erect a permanent settlement at the location.
Israel releases another 35 Palestinian prisoners—significantly less
than the 120 Israel had said it would release today. (HA 5/12; NYT, WP 5/13;
PCHR 5/15)
Late in the evening, on the eve of Powell’s arrival in Saudi Arabia,
suicide bombers in Riyadh simultaneously detonate 3 car bombs outside
residential compounds for foreigners and 1 outside a Saudi-U.S.-owned business,
killing 34 persons (including 8 Americans, 5 Saudis),
wounding around 200 (including at least 40 Americans), many seriously. Most of
the bombers appear to be Saudi, but no group takes responsibility; the U.S.,
Saudi Arabia suspect al-Qa`ida. (BBC, NYT, WP, WT 5/13; NYT, REU, WP, WT
5/14; NYT, WP 5 /15)
Powell meets briefly with Quartet reps. in Jerusalem before
meeting with Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak in Cairo, King Abdallah of
Jordan in Amman to rally Arab support for a PA crackdown on
Palestinian militant groups. Powell says that it makes “no difference” whether
or not Israel has declared acceptance of the road map; the important
thing is for both sides to begin implementation. (HA, NYT, WP 5/12; MENA 5/12 in
WNC 5/13; HA, WP, WT 5/13)
Palestinians fire
a mortar at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries.
7 Palestinians killed. 5 Israelis killed.
The IDF fatally shoots at least 7 Palestinians (including 1 man
who is shot, bleeds to death inside his home), wounds at least 50 (including 1
Palestinian journalist), demolishes 2 apartment buildings in
ongoing clashes in Gaza City before withdrawing in the afternoon, after
Egyptian mediators secure the return of the bodies of 6 IDF soldiers killed
on 5/11. The IDF also conducts arrest raids nr. Bethlehem, Tulkarm; fires on
residential areas of Balata r.c. (barring ambulances fr. reaching the wounded,
arresting 1 injured man). (AFP, MM 5/12; PSCT, VOI, VOP 5/12 in WNC 5/14; BBC,
HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/13; VOI 5/13 in WNC 5/15; QA 5/13 in WNC 5/18; PR
5/19; PCHR 5/20)
In Rafah, however, Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire a rocket propelled
grenade into the IDF-controlled buffer zone (the Philadelphi Route) along the
border with Egypt, hitting an APC carrying explosives for demolishing smugglers’
tunnels and Palestinian homes, killing 5 IDF soldiers, injuring 3.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and in Hawara
nr. Nablus, Hebron; raids, searches, questions the employees of a flour mill in
al-Qarara (a different one than raided on 4/27), occupies 1 floor as an
observation post; sets up checkpoints in Dura, searches Palestinian vehicles,
occupies 2 Palestinian homes as observation posts; raids, temporarily occupies 3
Palestinian homes in Hebron. 4 Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus
bar a 70-yr.-old Palestinian farmer fr. reaching his fields in nearby
Salim, severely beat him, set fire to 10s of d. of olive trees. Jewish
settlers fr. Beit Hadassah, Ramat Yishai rampage through Palestinian areas
of Hebron, throwing stones, bottles at houses, shops; the IDF observes
but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino attempt to
break into a Palestinian home that they have tried to annex to the settlement on
several previous occasions. A Palestinian woman injured during an IDF
arrest raid on 5/11 dies of her injuries. (IMEMC 5/13; OCHA, PR 5/18; PCHR 5/19)
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF makes a predawn raid into Nablus, searching houses and the al-Najah
Universitywomen’s dorms, arresting 1 Palestinian, clashing with AMB gunmen,
leaving 1 AMB mbr. dead; also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin.
Palestinians in Salfit accuse the IDF of recently rounding up dangerous wild
pigs inside Israel and releasing them in the area; the pigs have been
devastating agricultural property and threatening Palestinians nr. Salfit since.
The IDF critically wounds an Australian activist during the weekly nonviolent
protests against the separation wall in Bil‘in, shooting him in the head with a
rubber bullet, causing a brain hemorrhage. (AP, IMEMC,
World News Australia 5/12; PCHR 5/18)
In Nablus, some 5,000 Palestinians
(including armed AMB mbrs.) gather to donate money, jewelry to the cash-strapped
PA; at the same time, Hamas sponsors a telethon that brings pledges fr. as far
as Qatar, Saudi Arabia; officials do not say how much they raise.
In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron.
Jewish settlers fr. Gil’ad nr. Qalqilya assault a Palestinian farmer working in
her nearby field. (NYT 5/13; PCHR
5/17)
In Gaza, Hamas mbrs. return PA police cars, equipment seized
from Fatah affiliated PA security forces during clashes on 5/11.
1 Israeli killed.
In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in cars with
Palestinian license plates into Bayt Eiba nr. Nablus, where they surround a
Palestinian home, order all occupants to surrender (which they do), arrest 2
wanted AMB mbrs. (1 of whom was among the AMB mbrs. granted amnesty by
Israel in 7/07); patrols in al-`Arub r.c., firing on stone-throwing youths who
confront them, causing no injuries but arresting 1; conducts late-night arrest
raids, house searches in Hebron, Jenin town and r.c. (NYT, WP 5/13; PCHR 5/15)
The Arab League sends a high-level
delegation to Lebanon to discuss the political crisis. With scattered
fighting continuing, the Lebanese army warns that it will begin using
force to quell clashes if a cease-fire does not hold. Lebanese security
officials say that as many as 62 Lebanese have died and 198 have been
injured since clashes erupted on 5/6. (NYT, WP 5/13; NYT 5/16; NYT, WP 5/18)
Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, killing an Israeli.
Israeli forces seized a 42-year-old Palestinian in Hebron, claiming that they had found weapons at his house. In Qalqilya, Israeli forces seized the 52-year-old mother of a “wanted” member of Hamas’ armed wing. (Ma’an News Agency)
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arriving on 18 May and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak would be in Washington on 26 May and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, would be arriving two days later. Mr. Gibbs said the talks would be discussions on "the steps all parties should take to help achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab States." (AP)
At a joint news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak urged rival Palestinian factions to unite in order to achieve the creation of a Palestinian State. Mr. Mubarak also urged Israel to allow movement between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Mr. Berlusconi reiterated his support for a two-State solution. (AFP)
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, saying the United States must seize the chance to push Israel and the Palestinians to make progress on a Middle East peace deal. He said the United States must show ambition, and step up efforts to persuade all sides to urgently return to peace talks. (AFP)
Pope Benedict XVI celebrated an outdoor mass at the Kidron Valley just outside the gates of Jerusalem's Old City, saying in a homily that he felt the pain of conflict and displacement in the Holy Land. He said, "I wish to acknowledge the difficulties, the frustration, and the pain and suffering which so many of you have endured as a result of the conflicts which have afflicted these lands, and the bitter experiences of displacement which so many of your families have known and God forbid may yet know". (AFP)
In Jerusalem, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound where he was welcomed by the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Holy Land Sheikh Muhammad Hussein who delivered a speech focusing on the plight of Palestinians in East Jerusalem under Israeli occupation. The Pope also met with Israel’s Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger. Rabbi Amer told the Pope: "You represent a large nation of believers that knows what the Bible is, and it is your duty to pass on the message that the Jewish people deserve a renaissance, and a little respect ─ to live in this land”. (Haaretz, Ma’an News Agency)
The European Commission said that the Government of Spain had contributed a further €3 million through the EU PEGASE mechanism, to help the Palestinian Authority settle bills due to the private sector for the purchase of medicines. (www.delwbg.ec.europa.eu)
Nearly 7,000 UNRWA workers in Jordan began a three-day strike, closing schools and forcing health centres to work on an emergency-only basis. "Almost all the workers with UNRWA, who total around 7,000, began a three-day strike today to demand a seven per cent pay increase," said Matar Saqr, the Agency spokesman in Jordan, (AFP)