January 7, 2008

In Gaza, the IDF exchanges fire with 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (1 a woman) across the border nr. Bayt Hanun, killing both; sends armored vehicles, bulldozers into the Erez industrial zone under cover of heavy fire to level land (no injuries are reported). In Gaza City, 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots an armed Islamic Jihad mbr. who approaches a checkpoint outside Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Qalqilya (severely damaging 2 Palestinian homes, displacing 16 Palestinians), and nr. Jenin, Nablus. (NYT 1/8; OCHA 2/9; PCHR 1/10)