The IDF shoots British ISM activist Thomas Hurndall in Rafah, leaving him brain dead; the Briton was standing btwn. IDF soldiers and a group of stone-throwing Palestinian youths when troops opened fire, hitting him in the head. IDF helicopters fire missiles at a cemetery in Khan Yunis, injuring 7 Palestinians. The IDF also sends troops, 10s of tanks into Bureij, conducting house-to-house searches, arresting at least 4 Palestinians; conducts similar raids in Nablus, Qalandia. Jewish settlers shoot at Palestinian farmers working nr. Harsina settlement, wounding 5. (HA 4/11; NYT 4/12; LAW, PCHR 4/17)
“Frenzied looting” continues across Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, unchecked by coalition forces, spreads to private homes, hospitals, banks. In Washington, U.S. Secy. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld strongly criticizes press coverage of the mayhem, saying, “Stuff happens! Freedom’s untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes, and to commit crimes and do bad things.” (NYT, WP WT 4/12; MEI 4/18)