Egypt’s Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa visits al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in what he calls an unofficial visit to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and their claim to East Jerusalem. Many Egyptians and Muslims are angry that he broke an unofficial ban by Muslim clerics and Egyptian organizations on visiting areas under Israeli control. (WT 4/19)
Early in the morning, IDF troops make a brief incursion into c. Gaza e. of al-Bureij r.c., firing on the surrounding area; no damage or injuries are reported. Also in the morning, IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on Palestinian houses and agricultural areas in Khuza; a Palestinian woman 1,000 m. from the border is hit in the head with live ammunition and is seriously injured. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 9 residential structures, 6 animal pens in al-Khalayli bedouin community in area C nr. Jerusalem, displacing 54 Palestinians (including 34 children); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tubas; late-night patrols in Jericho. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities evict 2 Palestinian families fr. their homes in Bayt Hanina, ending a decade-long legal dispute with Jewish settlers over the ownership of the properties. (PCHR 4/19, 4/26; OCHA 4/27)