The IDF seals the West Bank, Gaza for Passover; makes an arrest raid in Nablus in which 1 wanted Palestinian, 1 IDF soldier are killed in an exchange of gunfire; fires rockets fr. a Rafah watchtower, killing Islamic Jihad military cmdr. ‘Abd al-Hamid Abu al-Aysh, who was allegedly planting a roadside bomb; fatally shoots a Palestinian who resists arrest in Hebron; shoots, wounds a Palestinian grazing sheep nr. Qalqilya; conducts other arrest raids in Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron. A Hamas mbr. throws grenades, fires on the Qarni crossing and is fatally shot by Israeli security guards; 2 Israeli civilians are killed in the exchange, at least 1 by Israeli gunfire, 7 are wounded; Hamas says the attack was in retaliation for the 4/8 Arabid assassination. (HA 4/15; NYT, PR, WP, WT 4/16; LAW, PCHR 4/17)
Tuesday, April 15, 2003