Israel allows a technical team fr. Siemens to enter Gaza with a shipment of spare parts and tools to perform maintenance on Gaza’s power plant, expected to take about 3 wks. to complete. IDF troops on the Gaza border inside Israel fatally shoot a Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence nr. Nussayrat r.c.; sends tanks into Gaza nr. the Rafah crossing to bulldoze an ESF post. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba steal at least 2 tons of grapes fr. a Palestinian farmer, attack and vandalize his home. Suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb nr. an ESF patrol in Gaza, wounding 3 ESF mbrs. Unidentified assailants toss an explosive device at the Fatah al-Yasir offices in Khan Yunis, injuring 2 bystanders. Gaza municipal employees begin an openended strike to protest nonpayment of their salaries. (NYT 10/5; OCHA 10/9, 10/10; PCHR 10/11)
Thursday, October 4, 2007