Friday, April 7, 2006

The IDF sets up another artillery battery nr. Kerem Shalom outside the s. Gaza Strip; conducts air strikes on a car nr. Rafah assassinating wanted senior PRC military cmdr. Iyad Abu al-‘Aynayn and 3 other PRC mbrs., also killing ‘Aynayn’s 5-yr.-old son, a young bystander, and wounding at least 14 bystanders, including ‘Aynayn’s 7-yr.- old daughter; steps up shelling across Gaza, particularly around Gaza City, including nr. Abbas’s presidential compound where he is currently staying (no injuries reported); blows up a Palestinian home in Hebron allegedly used for manufacturing explosives; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 2), nr. Jenin. After Palestinians fire a rocket fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF shells n. Gaza, injuring 4 Palestinians nr. Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino occupy a Palestinian house in Hebron, evicting the Palestinian residents (the IDF observes but does not intervene); the settlers claim to have purchased the building, but the Palestinian owners deny this; the Israeli Civil Administration says it is reviewing the claim. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh beat a 73-yr.-old Palestinian farmer working on his land in nearby Salim. (AFP, HA, YA 4/7; Guardian, HA, NYT, WP 4/8; VOP 4/8 in WNC 4/9; PCHR 4/9; PCHR 4/13)