IDF troops make an incursion 500 m into Gaza nr. Wadi al-Silqa village to level 9 d. of agricultural land. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Am‘ari r.c., Jenin.
In Jerusalem, Israeli security forces seal entrances of Jerusalem’s Old City to Palestinians, deploy 200 security officers inside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound (locking the doors of the mosque and corralling Palestinian worshipers), escort 500 Jewish settlers to pray at the site for Purim; when some 20 masked Palestinians inside the compound stone tourists below the wall, Israeli riot police fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at the Palestinians in the compound, injuring 6; Israeli police escort settlers away around noon, but small clashes continue in alleyways around the mosque, leaving 10s more Palestinians and 4 Israeli police lightly injured and at least 7 Palestinians under arrest.
Israel’s Jerusalem district court orders Palestinian resident of Jerusalem Mansur Abu Gharbiyya expelled for 2 yrs. for “participating in public activities” (not further specified). (NYT, WT 3/1; OCHA, PCHR 3/4)
