In the West Bank, 5 Jewish settlers (2 parents and 3 children) are found stabbed to death in their home in the unauthorized settlement outpost of Itamar nr. Nablus; the IDF sweeps nearby Palestinian villages for the assailants. The IDF patrols in Kafr Sur nr. Tulkarm; searches open areas southeast of Jenin, firing flares and stun grenades but making no arrests. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih/Dayr Nizam. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, causing no serious injuries; 2 international activists are arrested. (HA, MA, NYT, WP, WT, YA 3/12; IFM, JTA 3/13; HA, YA 3/14; PCHR 3/17; OCHA 3/18)
Friday, March 11, 2011