Monday, July 28, 2008

In the West Bank, the IDF sets up checkpoints, conducts random ID checks in Hebron; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Hebron, Jenin. The IDF forcibly evicts 70 Palestinians (including 20 children) from a Palestinian apartment building in East Jerusalem, then demolishes it, sparking unarmed clashes btwn. local residents and police (no serious injuries are reported). Fatah-Hamas tensions over the 7/25 bombings and ongoing Hamas crackdown spread to the West Bank, where PA security forces arrest more than 50 Hamas-affiliated activists and academics in Nablus (including acting mayor Hafiz Shahin; the Hamas-affiliated elected mayor and dep. mayor are in Israeli custody). Sources in Gaza, say Hamas-affiliated police have detained around 200 Fatah supporters since 7/25. Today, Gaza’s acting Hamas government bans the entry to Gaza of 3 daily newspapers seen as critical of its authority: al-Ayyam, al-Hayat, al-Quds. (NYT 7/29; OCHA, PCHR 7/30)