December 3, 2007

Israel releases 429 Palestinian prisoners (overwhelmingly Fatah, but including some mbrs. of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the PFLP; around 20 are fr. Gaza) as a gesture to Abbas. Israel also allows 150 Palestinian pilgrims to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing for the Hajj. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Wadi al-Silqa nr. Dayr al-Balah, shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tubas and nr. Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. The PA orders 92 Hamas-affiliated charities in the West Bank to close. (NYT, WP 12/4; OCHA 12/5; PCHR 12/6)