In Gaza, unknown assailants open fire on trucks at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, causing light damage to 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and raids in Qalqilya, 1 village nr. Ramallah, Tulkarm r.c. and 1 village nr. Tulkarm, as well as al-‘Arub r.c. and 1 village nr. Hebron, arresting 18 Palestinians; patrols in 2 villages nr. Jenin, 1 each nr. Qalqilya and Hebron, and ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho. Meanwhile, a group of armed men from the Balata r.c. shut down a main road in Nablus in protest of the PASF crackdown on the camp. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces confiscate the contents of a store in Hizma and demolish a residential building under construction in Wadi al-Juz. They also conduct raids in Silwan, assaulting 2 Palestinians and arresting 3. Meanwhile, the Jordan-funded Islamic Waqf begins renovations at Haram al-Sharif, and Israeli minister Uri Ariel calls for the project to be halted. In the Galilee, Palestinians in Kafr Kanna conduct a general strike in protest of the demolition in the village on 4/12. (MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 4/13; MNA 4/14; PCHR, WAFA 4/16)
PA Pres. Abbas meets with Russian pres. Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss Russian-Palestinian relations, the Middle East peace negotiations, and other issues. (AFP 4/9; AFP, HA, TOI 4/13; REU 4/14)
U.S. Pres. Obama meets with several U.S. Jewish groups to discuss the “key parameters” announced on 4/2 by the P5+1 and Iran, and their concerns about Israel’s security. The groups include the AJC, ADL, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Federations of N. America, AIPAC, and J Street. (HA 4/13; HA, TOI 4/14; JP 4/23)