The IDF patrols in 3 villages nr. Ramallah in the morning; makes a morning raid into Tulkarm city to search the homes of at least 2 mbrs. of the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces; raids Dura nr. Hebron in the afternoon, rearresting a Palestinian released in the 10/2011 prisoner swap for IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit (see Quarterly Update [QU] in JPS 162); patrols in 1 village nr. Jenin in the afternoon. Late at night, the IDF conducts synchronized patrols and 1 arrest raid in 3 villages s. of Jenin late at night; separate patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah; and an arrest raid nr. Hebron. (PCHR 11/24; OCHA 11/25)
A Hamas-appointed lower court in Gaza rules that 2 major banks in Gaza, the Bank of Palestine and Palestine Islamic Bank, must pay 10s of millions of dollars in fines and back fees for refusing to recognize the Hamas authority’s power to levy tax, instead remitting taxes to the West Bank PA. Bank officials boycott the hearings and say they may simply shut down to avoid paying. The ruling is seen as precedent setting and possibly applicable to Gaza’s 6 other banks, as well as companies that import fuel and electricity and operate cell phones. (NYT 11/18)