March 4, 2010

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on Palestinian residential areas 800 m inside the Strip, causing no injuries. Late at night, Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, detaining 3 fishermen (they are released on 3/5 after questioning). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. Gaza’s Hamas-run government bans male hairstylists fr. working in women’s beauty salons; analysts (e.g., WT 3/5) view it as evidence that Hamas is coming under increasing pressure from radical Islamist groups to prove its Muslim credentials. (WP, WT 3/5; OCHA, PCHR 3/11)