IDF troops on the Gaza border shoot, wound a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Hanun. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. In Nussayrat r.c., 2 Palestinians are injured when they accidentally trigger an unexploded IDF antitank shell. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Askar r.c., Balata r.c., Nablus, Qalqilya, and nr. Hebron, Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur prevent Palestinian farmers fr. reaching their land nr. the settlement, sparking fist fights btwn. settler and local Palestinian teenagers; the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at the Palestinians, seriously injuring 2. In Gaza City, Gaza municipal employees stage a sit-in to protest nonpayment of their salaries. (OCHA 4/18; PCHR 4/19)
Monday, April 16, 2007