The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah and in al-Arub r.c., al-Fawwar r.c., Jenin r.c. and town. Some 6,000 Israeli troops and riot police evacuate the unauthorized Amona outpost and demolish 9 settler homes there (leaving 12 mobile homes intact), scuffling with 100s of Jewish settlers who come to defend the cite; settlers pelt police with rocks, sand, paint and police respond with batons, water cannons, leaving a total of 219 injured, including at least 80 officers, some 140 settlers, 2 right-wing MKs. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 2/2; HA 2/5; PCHR 2/9)

Hamas mbrs. fire a rocket at the home of PA security forces cmdr. Sulayman Abu Mutlik and towards the PA security forces cmdr. in Dayr al-Balah, causing no reported injuries. Armed AMB mbrs. raid the offices of Palestinian Satellite Channel in Ramallah to protest the PA's failure to pay the salaries of some 65 employees of PA controlled media outlets.

The IDF issues a military order restricting Palestinians entering Israel to using 11 West Bank border crossings, citing the need for "increased security"; the order also bars Israelis fr. escorting Palestinians through other checkpoints into Israel. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem (firing on residential areas) and in Nablus, Qabatya. Nr. Hebron, 2 armed Jewish settlers in a car intercept and board a Palestinian school bus, threaten the driver, beat several students, injuring 5; IDF soldiers fr. a post 100 m. away observe but only intervene after 40 mins. when the settlers call them to come arrest 1 Palestinian boy for throwing a stone at their car; the soldiers comply. (IMEMC 2/2; NYT 2/3; HA 2/5; PCHR 2/9; HA 2/23)

In Gaza City, 20 Palestinian gunmen seal an EU office, demanding an apology for derogatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad run in the Danish press, then republished in Norwegian, French, and then other European newspapers. Also in Gaza, the AMB releases a video statement warning that it plans to kidnap more foreigners in reaction to the cartoons, prompting European diplomats, aid workers to begin leaving the West Bank, Gaza. In Nablus, Palestinian gunmen kidnap a German teacher, thinking he was Danish or French; quickly turn him over to PA police once they realize their mistake. Fatah, Hamas denounce the targeting of foreigners. A Hamas mbr. is shot, wounded in Khan Yunis, possibly in retaliation for Hamas attacks on PA security force targets on 2/1.

The IDF enters Dahaysha r.c. and fires on residential areas; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Teena nr. Hebron chase away 2 Palestinian shepherds grazing nearby, fire on their sheep, killing 3. Jewish settlers fr. Bnei Heifer nr. Hebron beat a Palestinian grazing cattle nearby. (WP 2/4; HA 2/5; PCHR 2/9)

Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, 1 of which hits a mobile home, injuring 3 Israelis, including a 7 mo. old, 2 of which hit an industrial park, damaging a desalinization complex. IDF fires some 50 artillery shells the n. Gaza no-go zone in response, causing no damage or injuries. Unidentified Palestinian gunmen (suspected to be PA security officers) kidnap a Hamas mbr. in Khan Yunis (see 2/2).

IDF war planes fire 3 missiles at a building and a car in Gaza City, assassinating 3 senior AMB mbrs., wounding 3 bystanders; fire 7 missiles at the entrance to Bayt Hanun in n. Gaza, destroying a bridge and damaging several homes The IDF also confiscates 279 d. of Palestinian land nr. Qalqilya for construction of the separation wall; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm. Nr. Hebron, 4 rock-wielding Jewish settlers beat an 11-yr,-old Palestinian boy. (AFP, IMEMC 2/4; HA, IMEMC, WP, WT 2/5; PCHR 2/9)

Palestinians continue to protest the Danish cartoons (see 2/2), burning tires outside and throwing rocks at EU offices in Gaza. In ongoing Hamas-PA disputes in Gaza (see 2/1–3), suspected Hamas gunmen kidnap Force 17 officer Walid Kanaan and his wife, quickly releasing the wife.

The IDF reopens the Qarni crossing (closed on 1/14); conducts an air strike on 2 cars driving in Gaza City, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Adnan Bustan, Jihad al-Sawafiri; patrols in and around Jenin (firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinians) and in al-Khadir; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Azza r.c., Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Silwad; begins work on the separation wall extension around Ariel settlement. IDF undercover units also attempt to ambush Islamic Jihad's Nablus military cmdr. Ahmad Raddad nr. Balata r.c. in an apparent failed assassination attempt; Raddad escapes unharmed. (IMEMC 2/5; VOI 2/5 in WNC 2/6; NYT, PCHR 2/6; NYT, PCHR 2/9)

A Palestinian fatally stabs an Israeli woman, wounds 4 on a shared taxi nr. Tel Aviv.

The IDF conducts an air strike on a car in n. Gaza, assassinating AMB mbrs. Hassan Asfur and Rami Hanun, injuring 2 AMB mbrs.; fires a missile at a school in Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, wounding a Palestinian inside her nearby home; launches 4 missiles at a bridge nr. Bayt Hanun destroying it; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. (HA, NYT 2/7; PCHR 2/9)

IDF fires missiles at a car in Gaza City, assassinating AMB mbrs. 'Atiya Abu Shari`a and Suha`il Bakir, wounding 3 bystanders; fires several missiles at roads around Bayt Lahiya, rendering them impassable. IDF undercover units, a bulldozer and some 25 vehicles enter Nablus, targeting and assassinating Islamic Jihad's Nablus military cmdr. Raddad (targeted on 2/5) in an exchange of gunfire that also leaves 2 IDF soldiers wounded; hrs. later Palestinians gather at the scene and throw stones at IDF troops, who fire rubber-coated steel bullets at the youths injuring 11. The IDF also fires on stone-throwing Palestinians nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids and searches shops in Qalandia r.c., firing on residential areas and wounding a Palestinian woman and 2 children; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nr. Hebron; confiscates 129 d. of agricultural land in Bayt Hanina n. of Jerusalem for construction of the separation wall. (HA, WP 2/8; PCHR 2/9)

Palestinians fire several rockets fr. Gaza towards Sederot, damaging 1 house, causing no injuries.

The IDF demolishes 5 Palestinian homes in Ramallah, 3 in Jenin, a 3-story building in Bayt Hanina; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya and nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. An IDF undercover unit driving a car with Palestinian plates enters Aida r.c., arrests 2 Palestinians. A Palestinian bystander wounded in the 2/4 IDF assassination of 3 AMB mbrs. in Gaza City dies. (PMC 2/8; PCHR 2/9, 2/16)

The Israel Lands Authority (ILA) bulldozes 2,500 d. of bedouin crops (classified as state lands) nr. Beersheba to dissuade the bedouin fr. staying in the area. In previous years, the ILA sprayed the land with pesticides but the Israeli High Court ruled against that practice in 2004. The ILA has offered to rent the land back to the bedouin for the duration of the growing season at a nominal fee, but the bedouin have refused, saying a lease would give legal backing to Israel's claim that the land does not belong to the bedouin. (HA 2/9)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian allegedly laying a roadside bomb nr. the n. Gaza border fence, wounding a 2d; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, in Nablus, in and around Hebron. (IMEMC, XIN 2/9; NYT 2/10; PCHR 2/16; AFP 2/22)

In Gaza, 1 AMB mbr., 1 PRC mbr. are fatally shot when they jointly attack the IDF post at the Erez crossing with gunfire and grenades, causing no injuries; the IDF shuts the Erez crossing in response. In Gaza City, unidentified Palestinian gunmen ambush, kidnap Egyptian military attaché Hussam al-Musali; no group claims responsibility or issues demands; Hamas denounces the action. The PA releases 39 Islamic Jihad prisoners, 7 AMB mbrs. held in its Jericho jail since arrest sweeps following the 12/5/05 Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Netanya.

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. (firing on residential areas) and nr. Hebron (occupying 7 Palestinian homes as observation posts). (HA, WP 2/11; PCHR 2/16)

Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF shells the n. Gaza no-go zone in response, causing no injuries. Palestinians throw an explosive device at an IDF patrol nr. Nablus, causing no damage or injuries. As protests against the Danish cartoons continue across the Muslim world, some 2,000 Palestinian march in protest at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem; large crowds protest after Friday prayers in Gaza.

The IDF fire 3 missiles at a car in Dayr al-Balah but the targets of the apparent assassination escape unharmed; fires live ammunition at stone-throwing Palestinians nr. Qalqilya, wounding 4; fires on residential areas nr. Hebron, wounding 2 Palestinian boys (ages 14 and 15); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura (occupying 1 Palestinian home as an observation post) and Nablus, in and around Jenin (seriously wounding a local Islamic Jihad cmdr.). Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai vandalize Palestinian homes, attack Palestinians in Hebron. (HA, IMEMC, WP, WT XN 2/11; NYT 2/12; Middle East News Agency 2/12 in WNC 12/13; PCHR 2/16)

A Palestinian is killed, 1 is wounded in a tunnel under the Rafah border apparently when Egypt takes measures to collapse it. Egyptian military attaché Hussam al-Musali (kidnapped on 2/9) is released in Gaza City; a previously unknown group named Brigades of the Free (thought to be connected to the AMB) claims responsibility.

The IDF conducts mock air raids over the Gaza Strip breaking the sound barrier; imposes a curfew on, sends troops into al-Shayukh and Sa'ir nr. Hebron based on false reports that an Israeli pilot had landed a glider in the area, fires percussion grenades, tear gas, and live ammunition at residents to keep them in their homes during the search, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin and Tulkarm, and in Aida r.c., al-Azza r.c., Bethlehem, Dahaysha r.c. Jewish settlers write slogans in Hebrew defaming the Prophet on the walls of a mosque in Nabi Elias nr. Qalqilya. (PCHR 2/16)

The IDF reopens the Erez crossing (shut on 2/9); fatally shoots a Palestinian shepherdess grazing sheep outside Wadi al-Silqa in central Gaza after she strays too close to the border fence; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in al-Azza r.c, Askar r.c., Balata r.c., al-Bireh, Hebron, Nablus. Israel extends the administrative detention order of jailed Change and Reform PC mbr. Omar `Abd al-Razzaq for 8 days; he was detained in 12/05. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron prevent Palestinians fr. traveling the Hebron–Qalqilya road. Jewish settlers fr. Tekoa settlement nr. Bethlehem chase off Palestinian farmers working their land nearby. (JAZ 2/13; IMEMC 2/15, PCHR 2/16)

The IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in and just southeast of Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids nr. Bethlehem, Qalqilya and in Askar r.c., Bayt Jala, Qabatya (occupying 2 homes as observation posts), Tulkarm. Nr. al-Arub r.c., IDF soldiers stop and search a Palestinian school bus; when a student on the bus allegedly opens window without permission, a soldier shoots him in the face, seriously wounding him. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus vandalize Palestinian homes in nearby Bayt Furik; the IDF intervenes, removes the settlers. (IMEMC, XIN 2/14; HA, PCHR 2/16)

Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza towards Ashkelon, damaging a building; in response, IDF artillery shells n. Gaza, hitting an apartment building, causing damage but no injuries, the IDF closes the Sufa commercial crossing into Gaza for the day. AMB Nablus cmdr. Nasir Abu Aziz says the Nablus faction will take steps to foil the success of the Hamas-lead government, saying "we would continue opening fire until they [Hamas] fail in their cabinet as they foiled Fatah."

The IDF reinforces troops in Hebron; fatally shoots a mentally handicapped Palestinian teenager during an arrest raid in Qalqilya when he emerges fr. a group of stone-throwing youths carrying a toy gun; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Qalqilya. Israel releases jailed Change and Reform PC mbr. Ahmad al-Haj (Nablus), who was placed in administrative detention for 4 mos. on 9/24/05. (IMEMC 2/15; PCHR, WP 2/16; PCHR 2/23)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues Operation Blue Skies (launched 12/28/05) to prevent Palestinians fr. firing crude homemade rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, enforcing a 1.5-mi-deep no-go zone along the n. Gaza border using artillery fire fr. inside Israel, occasional air strikes, heavy surveillance fr. air and sea, and construction of a border fence along the n. Gaza border. The IDF also continues to restrict the flow of Palestinian goods and individuals into and out of Gaza: Rafah operates 8 hrs./day for entry and exit of individuals to and from Egypt; Erez is open as the sole entry of Palestinian workers to Israel (the IDF has issued 5,000 permits but only 2,500– 3,500 workers can pass because of slow processing by the IDF); Qarni is open for the transit of goods (360 trucks/day entering Gaza, 75 trucks/day exiting with agricultural goods); Sufa, for the import of raw materials only, is closed since 2/14. In the West Bank, the IDF maintains 100s of checkpoints and roadblocks, effectively separating the northern and southern West Bank, cutting off access to the n. Jordan Valley, and restricting movement within those cantons. Work also continues on Israel’s separation wall. The IDF conducts arrest raids in and around Balata refugee camp (r.c.), Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (occupying 1 house as an observation post), Jenin. A Palestinian woman fr. Bethlehem attempts to stab an Israeli police officer outside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, is arrested. (HA 2/16; OCHA 5/22; PCHR 2/23)

The IDF bars Palestinians under age 45 fr. attending Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque; raids al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, arresting 6 youths (aged 14–17) for throwing stones at Israeli vehicles along nearby Route 60; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya. (PCHR 2/23)

The IDF tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement around Ramallah in the morning, coinciding with the convening of the new Palestinian Council (PC) session; sends troops back into al-Khadir (see 2/17), sets up roadblocks, conducts ID checks looking for youths who threw stones at Israeli cars on Route 60, arresting 2; raids, searches a Palestinian home in Hebron, severely beating but not arresting 1 resident; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c., arresting 2 15yr.- old Palestinian boys. A Jewish settler is stabbed, wounded apparently by a Palestinian nr. Ma’ale Adumim. (HA 2/20; PCHR 2/23)

The new Palestinian Council (the second elected since the PC was formed in 1995) is sworn in in Ramallah, with Gazan reps. participating by video link, since Israel barred their passage to the West Bank. PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas invites the Hamasaffiliated Change and Reform party to form a cabinet. (WT 2/18; NYT, WP, WT 2/19; al-Hayat al-Jadida 2/19 in WNC 2/20; MM 2/20)

The IDF sends troops into Balata r.c. in what it says is the beginning of an operation targeting the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB), Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) that will continue for several days, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops (killing 2 Palestinians, wounding 16), occupying an UNRWA school and several homes as operational bases, demolishing a Palestinian home. The IDF also launches air strikes on 2 Popular Resistance Comm. (PRC) mbrs. attempting to lay a roadside bomb or fire rocket nr. the n. Gaza border fence, killing both; fires across the Israeli border into Gaza towards Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. Abasan, causing no injuries; erects a gate at the entrance to Kafr Haris nr. Hebron, facing Ariel settlement; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Allar nr. Tulkarm, al-Azza r.c., Bethlehem, Qabatya nr. Jenin; patrols in Tulkarm. Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (VOI, VOP, YA 2/19, VOP 2/20 in WNC 2/20; HA, IMEMC, NYT, WP 2/20; PCHR 2/23)

The Israeli cabinet approves steps to isolate and destabilize the new Hamasled Palestinian government, including immediately halting transfers of VAT taxes collected on the PA’s behalf, a source of some $50 m./mo. in revenues for the cashstrapped PA. The UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto reprimands Israel, saying “these are monies that belong to the Palestinians and should not be withheld.” (Israeli cabinet communiqu´e 2/19; VOI 2/19, VOP 2/20 in WNC 2/20; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 2/20; JP 2/20 in WNC 2/21; WP 2/21; PCHR 2/23) (see Quarterly Update)

Hamas nominates moderate Ismail Haniyeh, who led the Change and Reform slate in the 1/25/06 elections, as its candidate for PM to form a cabinet. (VOP 2/19 in WNC 2/20; WP 2/20) (see Quarterly Update)

The IDF expands its Balata arrest operation to the wider Nablus area, fatally shooting Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades leader Ahmad Abu Sharikh, AMB Nablus cmdr. Muhammad Shatawi in apparent assassinations; firing on stone-throwing youths, wounding 12. The IDF also shells the n. Gaza no-go zone, damaging several homes in Um al-Nasser n. of Bayt Lahiya but causing no injuries; severely beats a Palestinian teenager in Hebron; demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of al-Fawwar r.c. nr. Hebron, wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Azariyya nr. Jerusalem, Tulkarm, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin. (AP, IMEMC, MM, NYT, WT 2/20; VOI 2/20 in WNC 2/21; IMEMC, NYT 2/21; PCHR 2/23; YA 3/1)

Palestinians fire a rocket fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries.

The IDF closes the Qarni crossing after a roadside bomb explodes nearby inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; continues operations in and around Nablus for a 3d day, clashing with local Palestinians in Balata r.c., wounding 18; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Qabatya. (IMEMC 2/21; NYT, PCHR 2/22; PCHR 2/23; NYT 3/4)

Armed gunmen from the Amr Abu Sitta Battalions (a Fatah offshoot) raid the Khan Yunis municipal building and a municipal garage, ransacking the offices and stealing the keys for all municipal vehicles, after municipal officials refuse to loan the group a bulldozer to level land for a barracks.

After the AMB fires 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF fires at least 15 artillery shells at n. Gaza, 1 of which hits an apartment building in Bayt Lahiya, wounding a 2-yr.-old Palestinian boy. The IDF also reimposes 2 roadblocks outside Jericho that were removed under the 3/16/05 agmt. turning over security control of the city to the PA, citing the PA’s 2/9 release of wanted AMB, Islamic Jihad mbrs. fr. the Jericho jail; continues arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus; finds an empty rocket casing in a search in Qabatya; bulldozes a USAID-funded public park and playground in Azun nr. Qalqilya, saying it was built without permission (USAID donated $80,000 of the $120,000 cost); fires on residential areas of Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron. Israeli undercover units, driving a car with Palestinian plates, raid Allar, search a home, arrest a wanted Palestinian. (AFP, PCHR, XIN, YA 2/22; PCHR 2/23, 3/2)

AMB fires 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Some 20 armed gunmen fr. the al-Yasir Brigades (an AMB offshoot) temporarily occupy the Rafah governorate offices to protest the appointment of a Khan Yunis resident as the new Rafah governor, demanding that the governor be a Rafah resident.

On the 5th day of IDF operations in the Nablus area, IDF fire on stone-throwing Palestinians in Balata r.c. escalates into heavy exchanges btwn. the IDF and local AMB mbrs., leaving 3 wanted AMB gunmen, 2 Palestinian bystanders dead and 2 IDF soldiers, 22 Palestinian wounded (including 3 medical workers treating the injured). The IDF also fires on stone-throwing Palestinians nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura nr. Hebron, Yabad nr. Jenin. (PCHR 2/23; DS, HA, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 2/24; PCHR 3/2)

The IDF officially ends operations in the Nablus area, but reenters Balata r.c. and Nablus late in the evening, patrolling streets and firing on residential areas; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians laying roadside bombs along the Gaza border nr. Dayr al-Balah; makes an air strike on 3 AMB mbrs. driving in Bayt Lahiya, missing the vehicle, injuring 2 bystanders in an apparent assassination attempt; shells uninhabited areas nr. Rafah, causing no damage or injuries; fires on 3 unarmed Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Gaza nr. Dayr al-Balah to find jobs, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 2; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron (occupying 1 house as an observation post), in Silwad nr. Ramallah; patrols in Askar r.c. nr. Nablus; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron. Elsewhere in Gaza, a Hamas mbr. dies in a mysterious explosion, possibly while preparing explosives. A Jewish settler fr. a settlement nr. Jericho shoots, wounds a Palestinian farmer working his nearby land. (REU, XIN 2/24; NYT 2/25; PCHR 3/2)

The IDF makes a rare raid into Jericho, turned over to PA security control on 3/16/05, to arrest a wanted AMB mbr. who is also a mbr. of the PA security forces; fires on residential areas of Bani Na‘im (wounding 2 Palestinians); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Budrus nr. Ramallah, Hebron (firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinians); patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin town and r.c.; raids the PA Customs Dept. in Hebron, confiscating fireworks; sends troops into al-Khadir to arrest 3 Palestinian youths for stone-throwing. After IDF warplanes strike the n. Gaza no-go zone, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel; the IDF responds by shelling the no-go zone again; no damage or injuries are reported on either side. A Palestinian wounded in the IDF shelling of Bayt Hanun on 2/9 dies. (AFP, JAZ 2/25; IMEMC 2/26; PCHR 3/2)

After IDF warplanes strike the n. Gaza no-go zone, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel; the IDF responds by shelling the no-go zone again; no damage or injuries are reported on either side.

The IDF shells the n. Gaza no-go zone; shoots, wounds 2 Palestinian teenagers at Anata checkpoint n. of Jerusalem when they protest the physical search of a young woman; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c., Balata r.c. and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus. All 4 flour mills in Gaza close, saying there is no wheat to process due to the IDF closure of the Qarni crossing; flour stocks in Gaza stores are estimated to last another few wks. (IMEMC 2/27; HA 2/28; NYT 3/1; PCHR 3/2)

The IDF sends troops into Bani Na‘im, surrounds a house in search of a wanted Palestinian who is not home, fires on stonethrowing Palestinians who confront the troops, sparking several hrs. of clashes that leave 35 Palestinians wounded; conducts overnight arrest raids in and around Jenin and in Askar r.c., Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus’s old city, Ramallah; uproots 10s of olive trees and bulldozes 2 animal pens for construction of the separation wall nr. Jenin; erects a metal gate, places barbed wire at the southern entrance to Jamayn nr. Nablus, which faces a settler bypass road; installs metal gates at entrances to Marda, facing Ariel settlement. The IDF also requests that the PA dig a trench 20 m long by 4 m deep near the Qarni crossing in a search for smugglers tunnels; the PA complies but no tunnels are found. (XIN 2/27; PCHR 3/2; OCHA 3/23)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. Several Jewish settlers severely beat a Palestinian woman nr. Hebron. (PCHR 3/2)