The IDF continues operations in Bureij r.c. (searching, vandalizing PFLP offices), Maghazi r.c., Nussayrat r.c.; demolishes 25 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 7 dunams of land, arrests several Palestinians in Rafah r.c. The IDF also bars a Palestinian woman in labor fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a hospital; she gives birth to a healthy baby at the crossing. A Palestinian gunman occupies an Israeli house in Maor, nr. the West Bank border, fires once at the 2 occupants before his gun jams and the occupants escape; Israeli police surround the home, fatally shoot the gunman. The body of a missing Israeli businessman is found in his burnt-out car nr. Tubas; the AMB takes responsibility for the killing. A Palestinian is killed in a mysterious explosion n. of Ramallah; the IDF suspects that a bomb he was carrying exploded prematurely. A Jewish settler deliberately hits an elderly Palestinian pedestrian with his car in Qalqilya, injuring him. (AP, CNN, HA, PCHR, REU, WP 1/2; AFP 1/2 in WNC 1/3; HA, NYT, WT 1/3; LAW, PCHR, PR 1/8; PCHR 1/9)
Thursday, January 2, 2003