April 25, 2001

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue to abate. In Rafah, 4 Fatah mbrs. are killed, 5 are wounded in a mysterious explosion. Though some reports claim the men were assembling a bomb when it exploded, 1 of the 4 killed, Ramadan Azzam, is also head of Gaza's popular resistance comms., raising speculation that the explosion was an IDF assassination. Arafat's Fatah organization denies its mbrs. are involved in bomb making. The IDF bulldozes 50-60 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Dugit settlement, 20 dunams nr. Rafah. (AP, WP 4/25; HJ 4/27 in WNC 4/30; MEI 5/4)