Egypt partially reopens the Rafah crossing for Palestinian travel. Smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border remain closed; Palestinians report that costs of construction materials in Gaza have spiked 20%–30% since 8/5 because of tunnel closures. Israeli bans on fuel imports also continue, forcing Gaza’s power plant to shut down 2 turbines for lack of fuel, causing rolling blackouts across the Strip to increase fr. 12 hrs./day to 16 hrs./day. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Kafr Qaddum, al-Ma‘sara, al-Nabi Salih, and Ni‘lin. IDF soldiers fire live ammunition (al-Nabi Salih only), rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 1 Palestinian is moderately injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet (Kafr Qaddum) and several demonstrators are beaten by IDF soldiers in al-Ma‘sara. (PCHR 8/16; OCHA 8/18)
Friday, August 10, 2012