May 16, 2003

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues operations in Bayt Hanun (see 5/15), where a roadside bomb explodes nr. an IDF tank, lightly injuring 1 soldier; fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian nr. Nablus who refuses orders to halt; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Nablus, 1 in Rafah. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, inside Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In Umm al-Fahm, 100s of Israeli Arabs attend a rally organized by the Islamic Movement to protest the 5/13 arrest of 15 senior mbrs. Israel also banishes a West Bank Palestinian to Gaza for 1 yr., accusing him of having aided his brother in committing “terrorist attacks”. (HA 5/16; PMC, WT 5/17; HA 5/19; LAW, PCHR 5/22)