1 Palestinian killed. 1 Israeli killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes
continue to escalate, leaving 1 Palestinian, 1 Jewish settler dead
in separate shooting incidents. The IDF
directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis;
bulldozes 100s of dunams of Palestinian nr. Dugit settlement, Khan Yunis;
detains 7 Palestinian fishermen at sea. Armed Jewish settlers bar the
entrances of Haris, attempt to enter the village, but are blocked by
international peace activists who hold them off until Ariel settlement
security officers take them away. (NYT, WP, WT 4/29; International
Solidarity Movement press release 5/1; LAW 5/4; MEI 5/4)
Claiming revenge for the death of Fatah mbrs. on
4/25, a group calling itself the Four Martyrs fires mortars at a Kefar
Darom, Netzer Hazani, and Nisanit settlements in Gaza,
wounding 5 settlers (1 seriously) in Netzer Hazani. Fatah denies any
connection to the group; Israel blames Arafat directly.
In Ramallah, IDF tanks flatten 10s of PA vehicles outside the PA
compound, soldiers demolish the interiors of buildings inside. Israeli police
arrest 2 Jewish settlers for planting a timer-controlled bomb in Maqassid
Hospital in East Jerusalem, disable the device; say the pair may be behind the
3/5 bomb planted at a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem. (AYM 4/28 in WNC
4/29; NYT, WP 4/29; HA, Oznik News Service [Internet] 4/30; JP, HA 5/10; WP
5/11)
The Israeli cabinet accepts a proposal by Bush to allow
Arafat to travel freely in exchange the PA transferring 4 wanted PFLP
mbrs. fr. the Ramallah compound to British-U.S. security personnel,
who will monitor their confinement in a PSF jail in Jericho until Israel, the PA
decide how to handle them. Arafat also agrees. Bush invites
Sharon to meet with him in the U.S. in a wk. (AFP, HA 4/28; NYT, WP, WT
4/29; MA, al-Quds, al-Safir 4/29 in WNC 4/30; MM 4/30; MEI 5/3)
(see 4/25)
1 Palestinian killed.
IDF undercover units raid Jenin, arresting local Islamic Jihad
leader Abu Ali Kasi, 3 associates, killing 1 Palestinian bystander.
The IDF also conducts arrest raids in Nablus (targeting the tanzim,
PFLP), engaging in an exchange of gunfire that leaves 2 IDF soldiers, 1
Palestinian bystander wounded; demolishes a Palestinian home in Qalqilya;
bulldozes 20 dunams of land in Khuza. Israeli police charge 4 Druze
fr. n. Israel with conspiring to kidnap an IDF soldier. An Israeli court
orders sealed the Shaykh Jarrah residences attacked by settlers on 4/27, leaving
48 Palestinians homeless. (HA, JTA 4/28; VOI 4/28 in WNC 4/29; LAW, PCHR 5/1)
The IDF fires on a jeep approaching Kefar Darom settlement at high
speed; the jeep, disguised as an Israeli civilian vehicle and packed with
explosives, explodes, killing the Palestinian driver, wounding 4 IDF
soldiers; Hamas claims responsibility. The IDF also briefly
detains al-Quds University pres. and peace activist Sari Nusseibeh for
hiring illegal Palestinian workers; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in
Sura nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron. In Gaza, an early morning
explosion damages the entrance to the home of PSF Gaza cmdr. Ghazi al-Jabali;
no one takes responsibility. (MM, PR 4/28; NYT, PCHR 4/29; NYT 4/30; PCHR 5/6)
The IDF raids shops, searches Palestinian vehicles Dahariyya, sets
fire to 2 of the stores, arrests 1 Palestinian; conducts patrols, sets up
checkpoints in villages s. of Tulkarm; imposes a curfew on, conducts patrols in
Silat al-Dahir nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Fawwar
r.c. nr. Hebron; evicts 3 bedouin families fr. an area outside Hebron; begins to
bulldoze land in Dayr al-Hatab that was confiscated on 3/11. Jewish settlers
fr. Ramat Yishai severely beat a Palestinian shepherd grazing his flock nearby.
(WT 4/29; HA 4/30; OCHA, PCHR 5/5)
Palestinians fire an anti-tank missile at a Jewish settlement in
Gaza, a mortar at an IDF post in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries.
The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya and nr. Bethlehem,
Qalqilya. Palestinians fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or
injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba seize and fence off 7 d. of nearby
Palestinian agricultural land to expand the settlement. (HA 4/30; PCHR 5/4)
3 Palestinians killed.
IDF troops on the Gaza border fatally shoot 3 Hamas mbrs. who approach the
border fence e. of Gaza City. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen
off the Rafah coast, forcing them back to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF
raids, searches an Islamic charity and a prisoners’ support group in Ramallah,
confiscating documents, damaging computers; patrols, fires on residential areas
of Tulkarm, damaging several shops; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr.
Jericho and in Qalqilya, Tubas. Jewish settlers stone Palestinian vehicles,
attack Palestinians nr. the evacuated Homesh settlement site. (HA 4/28; OCHA 5/2; PCHR 5/3)
In Gaza,
unidentified assailants detonate a small bomb outside a club frequented by PA
traffic police in Sudaniyya, causing no injuries.
8 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks,
armored vehicles, bulldozers, and helicopters into Bayt Hanun, exchanging fire
with local armed men and making air strikes on residential areas, leaving a
total of 8 Palestinians dead, 17 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier wounded;
most casualties are the result of a missile that hits a home, killing a Palestinian
woman, 4 of her children (ages 18 mos. to 5 yrs.), an unrelated teenager
and wounding 10 bystanders (including 2 more of the woman’s children). In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches a
car repair shop in Hebron, confiscating 3 cars; conducts late-night arrest
raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Tulkarm, in Qalqilya, and nr.
Hebron. As Israel begins preparations to move its Jerusalem police
headquarters from the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Ras al-Amud to the
controversial new E-1 site in occupied East Jerusalem, police officials sign an
agmt. giving a right-wing Jewish settler group the right to occupy the
vacant the Ras al-Amud building, which will serve as the nucleus of a new
Jewish settlement; the settlers have already filed with the Jerusalem Planning
Comm. to construct 110 housing units on at the site. In addition, the Israeli
High Court rejects a petition by Palestinians in al-`Aqaba village
nr. Tubas seeking repeal of an IDF order for the demolition of 60% of the
village’s homes and confiscation of all but 100 d. of the villages 3,000 d. of
land, supporting the IDF’s position that the land is “strategically
important” to the military. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize
Palestinian homes and cars in Hebron. (HA, IFM, PCHR 4/28; NYT, WP, WT 4/29; OCHA,
PCHR 4/30)
Palestinians
fire 7 rockets, 9 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light
damage but no injuries.
Israel's Defence Minister Barak said in a Haaretz interview that he expected Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to the principle of Palestinian statehood. "You have to understand that in their consciousness, the leaders are not so far apart in terms of what the final settlement will look like," Mr. Barak said. Mr. Netanyahu’s review of Middle East policy should be ready by time of his US trip, his office said. (AP, Haaretz)
In an interview, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman denied that settlements in the West Bank were an obstacle to peacemaking. Mr. Liberman also said that Israel could not negotiate peace with the Palestinians until they dismantled militant groups and set up a proper justice system. "To jump straight to the last paragraph [of the Road Map] and to concede on all of the Palestinian commitments to fight terror ─ it’s a very strange approach," he said. (The Jerusalem Post)
Egypt had opened the Rafah border crossing into Gaza allowing 18 patients to return home. (Ma’an News Agency)
"The plans to expand the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim are particularly concerning in that they threaten the creation of a viable Palestinian State, without which there can be no peace in the Middle East or lasting security for Israel," said the spokesperson of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eric Chevalier. (AFP)
Israel released Palestinian lawmaker and former Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razeq from prison, according to his wife. Mr. Abdel Razeq had been seized by Israeli forces on 15 December and originally sentenced to 26 months in prison for his affiliation to Hamas. (Ma’an News Agency)
Two Palestinian teens carrying knives were arrested in Hebron near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Israeli forces seized two Palestinians from towns east of Nablus and north of Ramallah. (Haaretz, Ma’an News Agency)
Hamas and Fatah continued their latest round of reconciliation talks in Cairo. Participants described the atmosphere as "very positive," according to local press reports. "We have agreed to resolve all outstanding issues as one package," Fatah parliamentary leader Azzam al-Ahmed, who was in Cairo for the talks, said. "We started the debate, and put forward new ideas. We exchanged ideas with enthusiasm. This, in itself, is progress," he said. (DPA)
An Indonesian humanitarian aid group called Medical Emergency Rescue Committee is planning to build a hospital in the Gaza Strip for the victims of Israeli military attacks, the Antara news agency reported. (Xinhua)